


Unrequited Union

by BWolf_20



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alien Sex, Beings merging into one, Body Horror, Body Modification, Bottom Tony Stark, Disturbing Themes, Helpless team, Mating, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Other, Oviposition, Rape/Non-con Elements, beastiality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2018-09-11 06:30:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 21
Words: 28,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8963185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BWolf_20/pseuds/BWolf_20
Summary: A lonely alien creature in desperate need of a female finds his way to earth. But of course there are no other creatures like it. And just when it's about to give up hope, it spots Tony Stark. Luckily for the alien, Tony being human is not a problem. With a little tweaking to his body, Tony can become a suitable mate. And so the alien strikes and forces Tony to be his permanent mate in time for the mating season. (prompt fill)





	1. loneliness

**Author's Note:**

> Every once in a while, I feel the need to write something pretty crazy to add on to the other crazy fics out there. But more than that, I'm drawn to something different. So I thought this bizarre prompt had to be filled, so I tried it. Besides I saw someone 'needed' this to be filled, so I decided to play with it.
> 
> prompt link: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/21438.html?thread=54282686#t54282686

He was much like a jellyfish with its translucent like bell exhibiting hues of light blue, speckled with silver spots, and was about as big as the world’s largest tortoise. It even had several thin tentacles hanging from beneath the edges of his body, but unlike a jellyfish, it had a unique set of legs. Two black back legs echoed the hind legs of a grasshopper. Its front arms were also insect like, with three claw-like fingers or hands at the ends. There was no actual head. Instead, three dark eyes were triangulated near the bottom of its bell body, with mandibles for a mouth. Long silvery antenna stretched out above the eyes and twitched as he took in his new surroundings of tall trees and greenery.

It crawled along quickly like a crab, making slight gravely wheezing noises. Any animal nearby either hid or gave a few noises of warning to keep its distance.

This place wasn’t its home. He had a home elsewhere, where the land was nice and marshy. Where there were plenty more of its kind, scuttling about, basking in the warmth on a flat rock, harmonizing in the lazy evening by chiming on a grassy blue hill, curling up in a nice moist cave with the water tickling its feet.

The creature was what a few others on that planet called a jalopoli. The jalopoli kept to themselves, only having interest in their own kind; finding mates and breeding.

The jalopoli came to a stop near a shrub and issued a low hollow whistle. It was the mating season back home, and it was the very reason he had been scuttling about on a planet that was not home.

His prick had been hard and ready as it moved about energetically, shifting the colors of its bell to soft pinks and oranges to attract a potential mate. It had made dancing motions and even leaped about in perfect arches, much like the other males had been doing, presenting themselves before a cluster of eager females perched together on a rocky formation rising out of a pool in their habitat. He had made beautiful chirps and issued low whistles to bring one forward. It would be his first female. It would happen in this year’s mating. Once a jalopoli reached eight years, it was time to acquire a permanent mate and he was more than ready, being that he had failed to acquire one eight years ago. The second time was the charm.

Problem was, he wasn’t selected by any of the fine female specimens. It was déjà vu all over again. Other jalopolis had flashed brighter colors on their bells or leaped higher and sang louder and more beautifully. He had been overlooked and ignored. 

He tried not to behave desperately, but he had regardless. He leapt frantically and made continuous whistles, all while the females approached other jalopoli males who embraced them into their core with their tentacles.

In no time the area was bare of females. The blame fell on the three-legged beings of their world who appeared to have an interest in hunting the females whenever they craved jalopoli meat. There had already been a low population of the females, so every jalopoli was hoping this year’s mating would bring about a higher number of them. 

The jalopoli issue a hollow whistle and quietly scuttled away from the pairs around him. Surely there were other females about. There were other unmated males, so he didn’t feel alone in not acquiring his mate, but it was still shameful; more shameful as this was the second time he’d been passed. Paired jalopolis flashed hues of dark red as a warning to the singles to stay away, but it was also a way of shaming them. Their hues flashed darker and brighter for him as all knew it was now sixteen years without a mate for him.

Being single did not mean they were exiled, but it might as well be considered an exile. Unpaired jalopolis were the lowest in rank and considered worthless. They would not find protection from the family if predators came near. They would be on their own unless they managed to find a female soon otherwise it would be another eight years wait. 

Said unpaired jalopoli had continued his desperate hunt for a female for about a week, before he had to accept the fact that there were none for him. 

His bell had maintained a sick green coloring for a while. Everywhere it went, flashes of red came his way, and he shrunk in on himself, clicking its mandibles slowly. The males made harsh gurgling sounds, suggesting that he leave for good because it was pathetic to be alone for so long. It was rare for a jalopoli to go sixteen years without a female. There was only one other that had the same experience and that jalopoli was slouched almost lifeless upon a stump.

From afar he would watch the jalopoli mate with the other singles who also issued green hues. 

But it was too much. The other singles could accept this but he could not. He knew there had to be a female out there for him. He couldn’t be destined to go sixteen years without the chance to lessen his seed and bring forth a wonderful family. 

So when the night came, he forced himself to crawl away from his marshy land and venture into the dangerous territory of the three-legged hunters. Few jalopoli studied their enemies and brought back info. From what they gathered, they were quite smart, always building large things, particularly the type of things they could fit their bodies into.

He knew they used them to travel to other places, which is why he came to them in the first place. His land had no females, so perhaps there was another that did. He traveled to the place where his enemy made such things for travel and observed them in the shadows. He sensed them out with his antenna, picking up on the males and females of the three-leggers and gaining a sense of their current need. Two of them were preparing for a journey in their silvery craft, and the jalopoli decided he would also journey with them.

He watched for days as they prepared, then waited for the moment when their backs were turned. Carefully and quietly he snuck aboard and hid among their supplies. As best he could he camouflaged himself, but it was difficult when all he wanted to do was cry out with his rising fear and flash yellow. It was insane, abnormal, for a jalopoli to do such a thing. The thing to do would be to go back and just accept his low position as an unwanted male, an unwanted jalopoli. But his prick twitched impatiently and he knew he couldn’t. He was meant to breed, needed to breed, so he didn’t escape the craft when he could. If anything he gave himself a congratulatory chirp at being clever enough to think of this while the other singles stayed behind sulking. No he had not bothered to share his plan as he knew it would ostracize him further. Once he managed to get his female, he needed his habitat to return to without such treatment. 

The jalopoli settled back, taking comfort in the ride and anticipating his future mate. 

Eventually the craft stopped and the three-leggers made their exit. A few twirls of his antenna let him know when it was safe to escape their craft unseen. Hurriedly he scuttled out, barely taking notice of his new surroundings, a heavily wooded area. With the cover of night, the three-leggers hadn’t noticed their hidden companion fleeing from the scene. 

The jalopoli darted into the cover of some thick branches as his bell took on a faded yellow. He watched the three-leggers for a while, collecting samples of the plants in their area before returning to their craft for the night. The jalopoli scuttled away to find some cave like dwelling. When it could find none, it dug up a burrow and settled there for the night, still feeling anxious.

By morning the jalopoli returned to see that the craft was gone. It was nerve wracking to know he was potentially trapped in some unknown area, but it wasn’t his main concern. So he set off to achieve his need.

A week in this new place so far proved to be futile. After searching and whistling and searching some more and whistling louder, he could not attract any females of his kind. In fact, he saw nothing of his kind at all. There were other bizarre creatures here; big lumbering furry creatures with dark fur, small ones that flew, long ones that scampered up trees. It was depressing and curious at the same time. The air was different here, and a little tricky for him to breathe in. The food that he could find was interesting; some of it colorful and sweet. Tiny hard dark creatures were its meal much of the time.

The jalopoli made little time for exploring this land as his mission was still on his mind.

But now, it was starting into the second week, and the jalopoli was not as interested or eager. Instead it moved slowly, and the blue hues began to turn green. 

He had not found a female. It was time to accept that he had either gotten on the wrong craft or had not stayed on long enough because there was no jalopoli females to be found here. There were females of other species, but they would not work. He had caught a reddish brown mammal to test the possibility, hugging it close with its tentacles. The creature put up a good fight before the jalopoli injected the hidden stingers in its tentacles into the animal, causing it to slowly fall helpless. Mating with the thing wasn’t possible, so he let the creature go and moved on.

As late as it was now, he was desperate enough to take a male. As a male, he had the means to alter another male’s gender to suit him. Problem was no male wanted to be changed and would fight viciously against it, so such a thing barely ever happened. Male jalopolis wanted true females.

The jalopoli sagged against a tree, staring out into a clearing longing for home. It had been a stupid idea to leave after all. It was stupid to deny that he was clearly destined to be a lonely single, empty of a family of little ones. And now he was stuck in some unknown region with unknown creatures, barely surviving the atmosphere and what it could find for food.

He gave what could almost sound like a sigh as it stared, awaiting whatever happened next. If that lumbering furry creature came along, he wouldn’t hide or fight. He would accept what it did as it had nothing to lose.

Suddenly there was an unusual sound zipping through the air. The jalopoli raised its eyes and saw something red and gold flying in. The thing slowed then came to a landing in the clearing. It was a curious, shiny, two-legged being that looked around. The jalopoli moved back to stay hidden as he watched. After a moment, the being took off.

Curious, the jalopoli raised its antenna to a standing position and caught its flight pattern. 

Feeling it had nothing to lose and sensing somehow this was something he needed to do, he followed the being of red and gold to its habitat.


	2. Potential

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The jalopoli takes a closer look at the being of red and gold to see if it can become a potential mate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, the little alien discovered Tony and decided to follow him home. Is it possible he can actual become its mate?   
> Lol, I'm still amazed I'm crafting such a bizarre story.

The jalopoli found the red and gold being to a small wooden habitat nearly completely hidden by trees. He could sense the being inside, yet there was something funny about what he was picking up through his antenna. They informed him that some kind of change or transformation had occurred and such info heightened his curiosity of the being. Still, he did not want to venture too close. So he watched from the cover of rocks. He couldn’t see inside the dwelling from his position, but his antenna was able to inform him of the being's movements within. 

Another odd thing he was picking up was a little static. It wasn’t something too abnormal back home as jalopolis often picked up static from some of the things their three-legged enemies crafted. Sensing this much caused him to turn a slight yellow. It wondered if the red and gold being was somehow connected to the three-leggers. If that was the case, there was his ride back home, despite the fact that he had lost out on finding another half in the form of a mate. The best way to know for sure was to investigate closer.

Once the jalopoli sensed the being was out of range of any openings where it could spot him, he scuttled forward. He stopped before the large square opening, raised its clawed arms to the edge and raised itself up high enough to peek inside.

The red and gold being wasn’t red and gold anymore, nor shiny. He was a faded pink or beige color, dull in tone but appearing soft unlike hard like a shell. The jalopoli gave a few quiet clicks as he stared. 

The being was currently standing in the middle of a habitat surrounded by objects the jalopoli assumed it created for itself. The being was also bringing something square to its mouth, appearing to drink or eat. The being’s back was to him so it was unaware of being watched. 

The jalopoli made swiping motions with its antenna to scan it and was able to gather that the being was male and definitely not related to his three-legged enemies back home. He also picked up that the being happened to be drinking and seemed distracted and determined. It was a creature was not like the bizarre furry ones he’d been encountering. It appeared to be its own kind of species, one the jalopoli couldn’t get a full grasp on. What he did get a grasp on was the potential of the two-legged’s biology. He sensed enough pliability in its chemistry to allow alterations, much like in the jalopoli. Jalopolis were made to adapt and change when they had to. Although a female had much more to adapt to considering the mating season. 

The jalopoli found this quite intriguing. The two-legged being almost appeared to be a relative of the three-leggers, yet it could sense there was something about it that connected it more to the jalopoli, or perhaps it was wishful thinking. 

A shock of static hit its antenna and the jalopoli turned to see the red and gold being walking into view of the pinkish one. The jalopoli issued a series of confused clicks under its breath as he watched the red and gold being drop into a seated position on a strangely shaped rock. The pinkish being walked over to the red and gold one and started to examine it. 

The jalopoli scanned the red and gold one and received nothing except static. It wasn’t a being. It had no breath or heartbeat. It was some kind of shell. Some kind of craft for the pinkish being to travel in, like the three-legger’s crafts, only shaped to fit the being’s body.

The jalopoli found himself impressed. This being was smart, capable, and adaptable. There was a strength about him; a hint of stubbornness as well. It was the qualities the jalopoli had been looking for in a mate.

Slowly he lowered himself to the ground and scuttled back across the land to his hiding place among the rocks. 

It was time to think. Rarely did jalopolis need moments to ponder curiosities. It was either something was dangerous or it wasn’t. There was the category of deciding whether or not something was useful, but to the community as a whole. It wasn’t usual for a jalopoli to consider something of use to itself only. They were a community and communities shared. But as of now, he was alone and with no certain way of returning to his community. 

He was in desperate need of a mate. There were no females of his kind here. None of the other odd creatures would do. Here was a two-legged being unlike itself, yet capable of adapting to itself. Of course, closer inspection would ensure this was accurate. He would need to feel the being out, examine to know for sure the being had potential.

A second thing to consider was whether or not it was worth it. Jalopolis didn’t go outside their species for mates if they were single, so why was he?

He made happy congratulatory chirps. Aside from the rarity of being sixteen years without a mate, he had always considered himself a bit outside the normal jalopoli and he wasn’t ashamed about it. The only thing it was ashamed of was having no female.

So what if he did this? No other jalopolis would be around to flash him with red. 

Deciding his intrigue and desperation were enough of a sign, he scuttled further out of sight and waited for the night when all creatures slept.

 

Once night came, the jalopoli made its way back to the being’s wooden dwelling. He peeked through the square opening and noticed the being was not asleep but hunched over some rectangular rock, pawing at some flat black object. It was also making sounds the jalopoli couldn’t decipher. The red and gold shell was still slumped on the rock not moving. 

The jalopoli growled in annoyance as it dropped back down to the ground in thought. He proceeded to investigate the dwelling by doing a perimeter check. He didn’t see a suitable way inside without doing some deconstruction. If the being was going to be his mate, he didn’t want to do damage to the thing his mate created.

Then, with the thought of making the being his mate, he decided to do a mating call of melodic chirps and low whistles. The being may not be a jalopoli, but he figured it would be curious enough to come out and investigate.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the being opened the entrance and stepped outside looking about curiously. It made the weird sounds the jalopoli couldn’t understand, but he sensed the being’s confusion.   
To lure the being further away, the jalopoli created an echo of his chirps, throwing the sound in a direction further from the dwelling. The being fell for the trick and ventured further out, leaving his dwelling open for the jalopoli to enter quickly.

He didn’t take much notice of the strange objects within. It was on a mission to find the most suitable hiding spot, and it found it under some large and long soft object in the main area. The jalopoli basically squished itself beneath it, and while it was uncomfortable, he decided it would do for the moment.

Not too long afterwards, the being entered his dwelling, still looking confused, and sat back down at the rectangular rock. The jalopoli was barely able to spy without being caught, so used its antenna as best it could to be his eyes. 

Eventually it heard the being moving and sensed it leaving the area. He made noises of frustration as he went. After allowing more time to pass, the jalopoli, altering his bell to best blend in with the space, exited its hiding spot and sought out the being with twitchy antenna.

He found the being lying flat on a soft rectangular rock, asleep. Carefully and eagerly, the jalopoli climbed onto this rock, going slow so as not to disturb the two-legger. Once up close, he was able to do a better scan of his body. The tips of his antenna lightly touched the being’s flesh, causing the being to twitch and mumble quiet noises. 

After such an examination, it became clear that he was correct. The being could adapt to his needs, becoming a suitable mate. There was the high possibility of their union affecting their offspring, but such a chance seemed worth it in the jalopoli’s mind. If he was never returning home, it would mean his little ones would have to survive in this strange habitat, and having part of the DNA of the being would greatly ensure their survival here. Besides that fact, the jalopoli was curious now of how their union would be. This being would become merged with his body. It would become his life mate, always there and ready to accept its sperm and carry its young. 

No the being was no jalopoli, but the possibilities of their union were strong.

Thrilled with this prospect, the jalopoli prepared for their union, and it started by tearing away the flat coating that covered the being’s actual flesh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it appears Tony will do since there's no other females around, and next chapter will most likely be from Tony's p.o.v. as the creature attempts to merge with him. Imagine waking up to this weird animal tearing off your clothes. Anyways an update will most likely happen after the holidays, so this could hold you over, as well as a link below about the actual mating habit of anglerfish which will give you an idea of what will potentially happen to Tony. It's so creepy, so be warned.
> 
> link: https://www.wired.com/2013/11/absurd-creature-of-the-week-anglerfish/


	3. Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony awakens to the strange creature that proceeds to go to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The jalopoli is preparing to make a proper mate out of Tony

Tony shifted slightly, and moved a leg in his sleep. It wasn’t an easy sleep to begin with, but so far he was slumbering well enough. Then he felt a coolness hitting his skin. There was a tearing sound that managed to drift into his ears, but his still slumbering mind chose to ignore it. He moved his leg again, then unconsciously lifted a hand to his arm. He felt his skin, and the coolness was getting uncomfortable. There was a soft chirping sound drifting into his ears along with the tearing sound. When the coolness increased and there was a sudden pull of the fabric across his waist, he slowly opened his eyes.

Sluggishly he moved his hands down his arms and felt nothing but skin. His brain registered that he had been wearing a long sleeve shirt to bed, being he was too tired and flustered to change his clothes before sleeping. 

He stared across the room, blinking slowly and moving a leg. He didn’t feel his pants. He felt the coolness which was waking him even more. 

Then he heard the chirps mixed with clicks. Then he felt something brush softly against his bare back. There was a tug on his waist again, and he looked down in time to see his boxers ripping away, leaving him completely naked. 

His eyes snapped wide and he turned his head upon sensing something close behind him.

It only took the quick sight of the large, bluish, blobby, many-legged, three-eyed insect like thing to get him to jump, or rather fall, out of bed.

“JESUS!”

He rolled over and began crawling backwards, keeping his eyes glued on the creature now scuttling frantically from side to side, waving its long clawed arms and twitching silvery antenna. Tony didn’t know what to think. 

“Please tell me you’re one of Thor’s pets.” 

It clicked its mandible in response. Then the thin tentacles began to rise from their hanging position under its body. It was a clear sign to Tony that this was no friendly pet of one of his teammates come to say hi.   
He quickly jumped to his feet and made to dash past it. At the same time, two tentacles shot forward and wrapped around his ankles, causing him to fall back on the floor. 

“Damnit!” 

He cried out as something like hundreds of sharp needles stung his ankles through the tentacles. He made to kick, but the tentacles had a good grip, preventing such a move. Already he was starting to feel his feet going numb. Making matters worse, the creature threw the rest of his tentacles at him to wrap around his legs. 

Tony hissed as the stinging hit once again. He forced himself to move, crawling on his belly toward the door.

“J-Jarvis…Come on bud…I need you!”

He hoped by some miracle the A.I could hear him in the suit that was still perched in the living room, in its non-working state. 

“Work!” 

He didn’t hear the suit hurrying to his rescue.

His breathing picked up just as the creature pounced off the bed and landed on his back. Tony made to roll over and fight it off, but the tentacles on his upper legs released and grabbed his arms. Tony hollered. He felt a set brush his waist and sting him there as well. His legs were falling dead fast. His hands were getting numb and heavy. He couldn’t push himself off his current position on his stomach, with the creature just perched on his back.

“No…no…get off! JARVIS!”

The creature made soft chirps as if it was attempting to calm him. And though Tony couldn’t see, its bell flashed soft pinks and oranges. 

Tony didn’t stop struggling to move. He did his best to twist and crawl, but his energy was dying. His legs were becoming useless. He barely managed a snail’s crawl toward the door as the animal began a low melodic whistle. Its eyes were fixated now on the back of Tony’s neck. Without warning, it stopped whistling and clamped down. 

Tony gave a gurgled cry and forced himself to raise a hand, but it was impossible now. He was pinned down with tentacles holding down his legs and arms, and touching his waist, its mandible clamping hard into his neck. 

It made aggressive sounding clicks and growls while Tony stared forward in shock. His arms and legs twitched in a final attempt at escape. He felt so weak now, as well as stupid. He’d always managed to keep himself secure. He’d always had a working suit capable of coming to his aid when he was defenseless. This time, it had all failed.

The tentacles slowly released his arms which were now still upon the floor. It released his legs which no longer kicked. 

Tony didn’t think he’d have to accept his own death again and to some bizarre animal. He thought about his teammates. He wondered how long it would take them to find out. He was on a solo mission, but sooner or later S.H.I.E.L.D would have to send the team out to see why he hadn’t reported back. 

The tentacles moved to his hips, raising them slightly and without stinging his skin. Tony couldn’t imagine why this was happening. He couldn’t fathom what it wanted to do to him. Then the tentacles snaked under, and downward.

He flinched and chocked as two of them reached his member. Desperately he willed his body to move, but all it could do was shake pathetically. He couldn’t move his legs or arms under him. He was a floundering mess.

“Shit, shit what are you doing?! Stop!”

But it didn’t stop. Instead they wrapped around the base. Tony didn’t hold back the scream as the needles inserted themselves bringing about a fire consuming his entire dick. 

The creature was not bothered by the screams of murder. It just held on, stinging and burning away the organ that classified Tony as male. Meanwhile, two other tentacles dipped downward along his back. The creature raised itself slightly off Tony's back so they could better access the crack of his cheeks.

Tony barely registered it. His screams were becoming garbled as the creature tightened its bite on his neck. Liquid began to spread on the floor, informing Tony he had pissed himself as the tentacles on his dick squeezed. There was also the possibility there was blood as well but his mind was ablaze with pain. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he felt his other cheeks being spread. And then the invasion came as they snaked into the hole.

There was a twist from within, then a harsh jerk on his dick before everything went black. 

 

Tony falling unconscious didn’t deter the jalopoli. It just continued to work, doing what it need to do in order to transform the being from male to female. Sure he preferred his mate to be awake, but for this part it wasn’t necessary. 

The jalopoli chirped soothingly as something akin to sharp teeth dropped down from its belly. The jalopoli settled snug against Tony’s back and sunk them into his flesh. It tugged and twisted the being’s penis while stinging aggressively until the fluid that would cut it away flowed from the stingers. At the same time he twisted his interior through the ass, injecting another kind of fluid that would make Tony perfectly fit for impregnation and bearing young. 

The only downside, it would take a while. The jalopoli was patient however. It would wait for this process to be complete before moving onto his main desire—becoming one with his mate.

The jalopoli sang a soft, happy whistle, covering up the slight moans of distress and pain from the man below.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I considered extending the chapter further, but decided to have it center around the jalopoli first going through the process of changing Tony's sex, then have him go through the next step afterwards. Tony's going to be in a world of shock when he comes to.   
> Anyways I'll update soon. Poor Tony.


	4. Oneness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The process of merging begins

The jalopoli stared at the organ he had detached from the male. Once he managed to tear it away he had tossed it aside across the room. The being would need healing down there where its member was now gone, but once they merged the jalopoli would be able to heal it. For now it ignored the blood in favor of singing and waiting. 

It had been long enough. His mate’s interior was ready, at least for the merging. The beings body would of course need more time to become accustomed to the changes. Moving too fast could simply confuse and harm the being’s body, but for now the merging could at last begin. 

Tony groaned lightly as he started coming to. There was so much pain, numb pain, but with a lot of throbbing in the wrong places. As a whole he felt wrong. He felt so weak and exhausted and all he wanted to do was go back to his unconscious slumber. He gave a low moan as he started becoming more aware. He muttered unintelligible words and blinked slowly.

A low chirpy song came to his ears. He thought it was quite peaceful, even though there wasn’t a chance he could find peacefulness at the moment. 

The song stopped, and there was low chirping. Tony registered it was coming from behind him, and it was then he recalled the events that had lead him to such a state. He saw the tentacles out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head slightly and gasped at seeing a sliver of the creature resting on his back. 

He made to scramble away but his limbs were like lead. And then his eyes caught sight of a piece of necessary flesh discarded across the room. He couldn’t scream properly at the sight of it as his mind was trying to tell him it was impossible. There was no way his dick was lying over there across the room. 

So he choked on his screams as everything began to spin. And then he screamed as a tearing pain ran down his back. 

The jalopoli was using the teeth like appendages from beneath its belly to make a nice cut down the center of his back so it could part the skin. 

Tony wailed. He tried to move limbs, but for security measures, tentacles wrapped around them and held them flat on the floor. Blood started to bloom so the jalopoli pressed its body closer and started a kind of suction to absorb the red fluid. It didn’t matter. Soon they’re blood would be shared. The gelatinous like bell kept pressing on the being’s skin. It released its own fluid, clear and sticky, that would soften the being’s skin enough. 

The jalopoli got a good look at muscle in the being’s back while said being continued to wail. Slowly the sticky fluid began to have the desired effect. It joined the edges of the bell to the skin in the process of fusing them together. For jalopolis, the merging was an easy process. For the female, a semi-pleasurable experience, but easy being there was no issue of size. The jalopoli had realized this potential problem as it felt its body fusing to the skin. The being was so much larger than itself, so absorbing his mate into itself would be terribly tricky, or wouldn’t work at all. Nonetheless, he tried by rolling the fused edges of its bell body over the sides of the being’s body.

It would have to extend itself. Jalopolis were capable of such an action, but normally did not like to enact it. Regardless the jalopoli initiated the inflation of its bell. The bell rose up like a balloon, also causing the jalopoli’s body to stretch forward. The jalopoli’s somewhat nonexistent head now rested atop Tony’s. 

There was burning, there was tearing, there was more fluid being dropped as the flesh and muscle of Tony’s back was broken down. The jalopoli began a suction process to pull the being’s body into itself. The insect like legs lifted it higher, bringing Tony upward so he was no longer lying flat on the floor. With the bell pulling the body inward, Tony was starting to dangle beneath the thing.  
The tentacles released Tony’s limbs, allowing him to wave them about in a desperate attempt to escape. It was futile now, and eventually Tony realized as much as he slowly grew still.  
He couldn’t stop the sobs escaping his throat. His mind was a haze of confusion and terror which only increased as he felt the creature’s body slip down over his eyes.

There was darkness, then a horrible gnawing at the back of his head.

Tony’s mouth dropped in a silent scream as he felt a nasty shock in the back of his brain. Suddenly nerves were on fire and there was the sense that he was slowly losing control of his body. 

He didn’t need a mirror to see that he was nearly completely engulfed by the creature. Its soft body was cushioning him all around. He tried to move his legs and arms, the only parts of his body not absorbed, but they were practically dead. He was barely aware that he had stopped trying to scream or even sob. Something seemed to be teasing the corners of his brain. His vision was slowly coming back, but it was hazy. Things were tilting. Tony felt he was aware yet he was starting to feel fuzzy and slow. 

Tony felt his eyelids drooping shut as whatever little things were tapping at his brain moved further inward, weaving between crevices and wrapping around one of the most important organs of the human body.   
A wave of nausea hit the pit of his stomach, wherever it was now, at the idea that there was nothing he could do to stop the thing from taking his mind. Tony was certain it was a teardrop that ran down his cheek, unless it was another type of fluid entirely. 

The nerves took their time coming back to life, and when they did, Tony automatically got the feeling that they were not his own. Not any longer. In fact he did not feel that his body was his own. If anything there was something more. Something else.

The haze causing temporary fuzziness began to decrease. 

He blinked slowly, then opened his eyes for what felt like the first time. 

The happy chirping sound was back, but this time it seemed to echo in his head, but it did nothing to ease the rapid beating of his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't think I'd get this update in this weekend as I was busy, but I'm glad I was able to. Anyways Tony has been merged with the jalopoli at last, yet there's still a bit further it needs to go before Tony's fully his mate. A tricky part to write since it came to trying to break down how the merging would work and what it would look like. Originally I thought the way I'd write this story would be in a more simple fashion, but not so much now, particularly for the next part with the situation of Tony essentially being one with the creature. Surely Tony's mind hasn't fully been absorbed?  
> You'll have to see on the next update.  
> Thanks for the reviews and the continued interest :)


	5. Consciousness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony comes to the realization of what happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new update after so long. Sorry about the wait

Everything was sharper in Tony’s eyes, and there was an odd blue haze to his vision. He blinked as he tried to clear it away, but it did nothing. He found himself quite aware of the smells in the air, and somehow he was picking up something else by unknown means. This unknown means sent a tingle up his spine, almost like a bearable jolt of electricity. Suddenly, information about the room was pouring in. It was information he already knew, being that he’d spent plenty of time in it, but the way he was getting this old information felt new. It informed him about the bed, the chairs, the desk; how big the objects were approximately; if there were any threats in the room, which none were detected; if there was any food to be found.

Tony felt himself stagger. He felt his heart pounding. 

And then he choked as he became aware of what had happened moments ago. A creature, some horrible alien thing had…

_‘No…god no!’_

He extended his mouth to scream and curse, only to find he did not exactly have a mouth. Instead, mandibles clicked sideways. It wasn’t his mouth, it was the thing’s!

_‘FUCK!’_

He tried to move, sensing that he at least still had his arms and legs, but they were currently hanging useless under the creature. The chirping he had been ignoring seemed to increase in his head. He couldn’t make sense of it, which only distressed him more. His nerves signaled fear loud and strong. Then the chirping slowed until it became silent. Tony felt confusion then, but he interpreted it as not one of his own feelings. He was feeling two separate emotions at once rather than combined as some complex human emotion, and he couldn’t figure out how it was possible.

Then the feeling simplified to where he just felt scared. 

_‘What the hell is happening?’_

There was a sudden warmness along his back. Tony urged his limbs to move. He had to free himself from the creature before it did anything else. He had to get help! He had to get Jarvis! He had to get…anyone.

_‘..e...e..eez...eease..’_

Tony stopped his frantic urging. This new voice in his head was not his own. In fact, it didn’t sound remotely human. 

The jalopoli had tapped further into the being’s brain, desiring to break the barrier of language between them. His mate would need to understand him. 

_‘ease,’_ it seemed to say, calmly.

Tony blinked, feeling hopelessly confused.

_‘What the hell? Are you talking to…me?’_

_‘ease’_

_‘WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME!’_

Why was this even happening? Why did he not feel his body, yet at the same time feel something soft cushioning around a form he didn’t have? The questions wouldn’t stop circling, just like his heart wouldn’t stop pounding so hard. If this creature was capable of communication, then he needed to understand why it was doing this. 

_‘Why?’_

_‘ease…ease…ease’_

The creature wanted him to calm down. Tony shut his eyes. It was the last thing he wanted to do, but there was no other way to think properly unless he set his fear aside. Tony felt the warmness coating his back again, this time there was a coziness to it, like a nice hug that he couldn’t help easing into. 

Then suddenly the creature began to wail. Tony jolted as the nerves in his dead limbs came alive. He could even bend a finger now and wiggle a toe. This was his chance. With everything he had, he urged them to move. If he could just grasps something, he was certain he could pull himself out of this thing. 

But it wasn’t possible.

He couldn’t work enough energy into his limbs to move them. It didn’t seem to matter as he felt his limbs being pulled inward like the rest of his body.

_‘NO!’_

Once they were fully merged, he would be completely helpless. The jalopoli staggered as it continued to wail. It jittered as its bell flashed red. Whatever was happening now was not exactly a part of the merging process. The jalopoli cried helplessly just as Tony began to wail internally. Then in a matter of minutes, Tony’s arms and legs were sucked into him.

The next feeling was the worst. An intense pain was running down its front insect like arms, giving him the impression that they were breaking. On top of that, something was pressing against the sockets of his arms, almost as if that something was trying to push them off. At the same time something was pushing out from the back of him, just behind its back hind legs. 

The jalopoli moved, scuttling frantically into the front room. Something was going wrong, or else this was a defense from the being. Soon his arms became useless, and to his surprise, detached completely from its body. Pushing forward from the sockets, was a new set of arms; Tony’s own human arms replacing the jalopoli’s. And just as Tony’s arms became his new limbs, his legs pushed all the way out from the back. 

Tony wiggled his fingers and toes unconsciously as the pain began to ware down. The jalopoli growled and claimed control over the moving digits. He watched as he spread and uncurled them, taking fascination in the human appendages. Tony, meanwhile, was far too deep in shock to really register what had happened. He saw what the creature saw, which was his own arms before himself. No longer did they hang under the belly. He could feel his legs on the floor as well. Together, he was in a crawling position with the creature’s own insect like legs in-between his still human arms and legs. 

_‘Crawl’_ he thought desperately. _‘Crawl!’_

_‘ease…ease…ease, mate’_

Tony stopped urging the motion when he realized what the creature had just said.

_‘Mate?’_

He didn’t understand. Did this thing really intend to mate with him? 

_‘ease, mate…mate’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In a way I kind of abandoned this story, especially when I started working on other fics. But I've seen a couple of comments about this fic and recently I thought I should come back to this since I really hate leaving a work unfinished. At the moment it looks like interest is still here for this fic, so I'll do my best to update :)


	6. Cooperation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony has a moment to work with the creature, as well as learn a little about it.

The idea of mate brought Pepper to mind. It wasn’t a time to be thinking of her at such an insane moment, but the image had come to him nonetheless. The jalopoli clicked in confusion as he too saw what Tony was mentally thinking, and so he crushed it out of their minds. 

_‘No…NO!’_

If there was one thing he cherished about himself aside from his looks, it was his brain, and he did not take kindly to the idea of some creature seizing dominance of it. There was nothing more terrifying than something else having control over his thoughts, let alone actions. 

_‘I’m still in here damn it! You’re not taking my mind from me!’_

_‘ease mate…ease...’_

_‘Just what the hell are you! What do you want from me?’_

_‘Mate…mate’_

Tony wasn’t sure if it even mattered what the thing was. What mattered most was what it was going to do, and he didn’t like the creature’s insistence on calling him its mate. 

_‘You can’t…mate with me.’_

The jalopoli issued a low whistle before he turned his attention to his new human appendages. He brought up the fingers to get a closer look, and just as he did, everything became hazy in his vision. The jalopoli cried out and shut his eyes as a sudden pain behind them appeared. But as quick as it had arrived, it was gone. He raised the human fingers up again, this time to feel out his new eyes, which were now two, and completely human. Gone was the triangular set of three, but the sharpness of his vision remained. 

_‘What the hell’s happening!’_

Tony couldn’t keep up with anymore changes.

The jalopoli ignored his worry for the moment in favor of testing out his appendages, working Tony’s arms to pull himself, while also getting his legs to shift his body forward. It was awkward moving the human parts while also moving his own insect legs. In fact it was getting downright frustrating and tiring. All he was doing was fumbling around in no real direction. 

_‘Useless legs,’_ he thought. The human arms and legs had been interesting, but now they were just in the way. He dragged his right knee while moving the left hand, then alternated by moving the left knee and the right hand. A few times he got mixed up, resulting in more awkwardness. _‘Useless…useless…cut them off.’_

_‘No! Don’t cut off my arms and legs!’_

_‘Useless’_

The jalopoli raised the human arm up to his mandibles, intent on severing it. Tony couldn’t let that happen.

 _‘No wait, damn it…just…’_ There was no other way out of it. If he wanted to keep his human parts, the only external parts of himself he had aside form his eyes, he’d have to make the thing realize they weren’t useless. _‘Just, start with the arm.’_

The jalopoli made curious sounds as it twitched its antenna in interest as well as suspicion. He wasn’t sure if this being was all that trustworthy yet.

_‘Better yet, give me control. I’ll show you…trust me..’_

The jalopoli was still unsure.

_‘Trust me’_

It relinquished control, and Tony was able to breathe in a moment where he felt himself moving his own fingers and toes again. Without trying to think about it, he imagined how well he’d get away with using his arms to pull himself out of the creature. He couldn’t afford lingering on such thoughts since they shared his mind.

 _‘Show,’_ the jalopoli demanded.

Tony did just that by crawling around the living room floor. Now it was the jalopoli’s own insect appendages that proved useless as they just dragged. After several minutes of this, the jalopoli worked his own legs along with Tony’s. It was confusing and troublesome at first, but after a moment they found a nice walking rhythm. His bell flashed an array of colors in excitement, then settled on flashing orange. Tony could feel the creature’s happiness which threatened to combine with his continuing sense of fear. He didn’t want to examine those feelings, so he just kept moving his arms and legs, falling in sync with the alien’s. Then out of nowhere, the jalopoli sprung forward as it pushed hard on its hind legs. Being they were much like a grasshopper’s, it imitated a nice leap forward.

_‘The hell? Warn a guy’_

The jalopoli scuttled about on the spot, clicking its mandibles in delight as it continued to take joy in their efforts in working together, at least when it came to movement. Tony’s momentary anger faded as the antenna clicked and informed him of his abandoned suit. If he could just get to it, maybe he’d be able to revive Jarvis and get help. 

He made his way toward it. The jalopoli was oblivious to the plan, but just as Tony reached his right arm toward the leg of his suit, it took control again.

_‘No…NO!’_

The jalopoli scuttled away from the suit, taking control of all the arms and legs. Its bell flashed red, warning his mate against any actions that could harm them.

 _‘What?...No, I wasn’t going to hurt us,’_ Tony claimed as he caught onto the jalopoli’s problem. _‘That suit can help us. It’s good…good. You know what that means right?’_

_‘Good?’_

_‘Yes, good’_

The jalopoli took in the red and gold suit, not quite trusting it. He tapped into Tony’s mind, letting the tendrils curl and bring up past memories that involved the thing. Tony gasped in discomfort, shivering with the feel of his mind being raped.

_‘S-sstop it….please…’_

But it didn’t stop, and soon enough, memories were surfacing painfully. Memories where Tony saw himself creating the suit, testing it out, and using it to destroy his enemies. If he’d had his proper body, he was sure he’d be writhing on the floor as the thing pushed deeper into his brain. Eventually it was too much and he had to scream, but the jalopoli itself made no noise.

It saw images of his mate with other beings like itself. It saw a red headed female and watched as Tony became intimate with her.

_‘Fuck off! That’s private!’_

The jalopoli kept going until he uncovered as much as he desired to know about his mate for the moment. That life didn’t matter anymore, so there wasn’t much point in digging it up. It chirped quietly, then briefly flashed a sad green before switching the memories to his own.

Tony stopped screaming as he saw a stream of the jalopoli’s own past, where other creatures like it scuttled around on some foreign planet. Where bizarre three legged beings clambered about and built special instruments and crafts. He was introduced to the jalopoli’s kind pairing up as they mated, and it made him sick to his stomach. Tony didn’t want to see anymore, but it continued to share the memories. It even shared the ones where it was scuttling around in sorrow upon not being able to attract a mate. 

As the jalopoli’s bell fell green again, Tony felt what it had felt when it was there. A deep loneliness. A feeling of not being wanted, let alone loved. Tony was frozen as he watched through its eyes, seeing the others flash him away. It didn’t matter what kind of animal it was, because every creature deserved loved. What made this jalopoli so different that it didn’t deserve what the others had? It wasn’t deformed. It was just like everybody else. Maybe it was a little small, but that didn’t mean he deserved to be rejected. And even if he couldn’t get a mate, what was so wrong about being single? They might not be human enough to take pride in independence, but still. But of course, no mate meant no family, and this thing wanted a family. No one wanted that family with him apparently.

Tony blinked, confused. He couldn’t believe his heart was aching for this thing. 

And then he saw, through its eyes, the jalopoli sneaking aboard the three-legged beings' craft and arriving on earth. Tony watched as it watched him fly through the sky in his suit. The jalopoli cut the memories off there, and simply sank to the floor moaning quietly.

_‘So that’s why…Jesus’_

He wasn’t sure what to think. The fact that this thing was clever enough to go to the extreme to find a mate was something in itself. It was going against the grain, much like he himself had always done, and he understood that those who went against the norm were often on their own. He wanted to feel angry again that this was happening; that he had been chosen against his will to spare this creature from being alone. Unfortunately, all he could feel was sympathy, and he was sure it was because they were becoming more like a single entity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony and the jalopoli working together for the first time in walking. I doubt he'll be pleased about working with it when it comes to mating ;)


	7. Suspicion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and the jalopoli encounter a new issue, meanwhile, others become aware of a situation.

_‘Fuck you.’_

Tony decided he wasn’t going to feel sympathy any longer. He had a life, and it wasn’t going to be with this thing. He felt the nerves of his limbs and started making his way toward the suit again. The jalopoli clicked sharply and reclaimed control of his arms and legs.

_‘No, I told you the suit was good…good damn it!’_

_‘Bad’_

His bell flashed a warning red to emphasize his feelings. Tony couldn’t understand it. The creature had tapped into his mind and saw his suit. Surely it saw the purpose of it and the protection it provided.

_‘It’s not bad…it’s safe…safe’_

_‘Bad’_

_‘Safe!’_

The jalopoli wouldn’t have it. The suit may have been alright for the being before the merge, but now it was different. He couldn’t understand how his mate could reason it was safe when it clearly didn’t have the form to fit their new shape. He just scuttled away from the thing and focused on their current surroundings. The antenna twitched, but picked up nothing of true use. 

It moved here and there, stopping every few minutes to twitch its antenna before moving on. Only when it entered the kitchen did Tony question it.

_‘What are you…doing?’_

As if to answer, he felt a little twist in his gut.

_‘Food’_

Tony felt a tinge of panic strike him. Of course he would have to eat, but he couldn’t imagine what that would be like. If their bodies were merged, did that mean the same for their stomachs? He caught sight of the fridge as the jalopoli moved about.

_‘There...food’_

_‘Food…direction?’_

_‘Give me control of my arms and legs. I’ll show you’_

The jalopoli clicked in caution of this idea, but did so. It was better to work with a mate than not to at all. And once Tony felt the control, he took a moment to appreciate his ten digits by curling and wiggling them for a moment. Afterwards, he glanced up at the fridge as the hunger pains increased. Before reaching for the handle, he turned back to the suit. He desperately desired to go to it again, but knowing the creature’s feelings on it forced him to give it up, for now.

Tony extended his right arm upward. Sensing struggle, the jalopoli raised them up using his hind legs. Tony got more than enough of the height needed to reach it, but just as his fingers fell on the handle, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest.

_‘Shit’_

He had completely forgotten about the arc reactor. He could still feel it in his chest, but barely, and now it was informing him that there might be a problem.

_‘No…not now…not this of all things!’_

The jalopoli chirped in confusion, then the chirp became a screech as it shivered with the rising pain. 

_‘What now?’_ Tony thought desperately. He moved his hand under what he perceived to be the chest area of the creature and shut his eyes. As best he could, he willed himself to stay calm as the jalopoli screeched in his ears.

_‘Be calm’_

_‘Bad…bad…bad’_

_‘Be calm…please’_

The jalopoli eased its cries and settled, just as the pain in his chest settled down. Tony couldn’t imagine what the problem had been. The only thing he could theorize was that the creature had still been in the process of merging with him, at least internally. As far as he knew, they now shared the arc reactor, and that thought was just as frightening as everything else had been.

_‘I don’t need any more shit’_

_‘Food’_ the jalopoli demanded once he felt better again.

 

Steve walked down the hall with a furrowed brow. Fury had just called him out of training in the gym for a meeting. He expected it to be a new mission and assumed it might be another case where it was just himself and Natasha working together since lately the rest of the team had either been accomplishing solo missions or taking time off. 

Down another hallway, Rhodes turned the corner and gave him a nod.

“Steve,” he greeted.

“Rhodes. Joining us this time around? It’s been a while.”

Rhodes gave a shrug.

“Depends on how much Iron Patriot is needed. I can’t say I can join you guys at the moment. Maybe one suit will be enough.”

Steve smirked at the nod toward Tony.

“Maybe,” he agreed, “but I can at least trust you to listen to me.” 

Rhodes chuckled as they made their way through the door into Fury’s private meeting room. Fury himself was standing near the head of the table where the rest of the team was already seated. Steve scanned over their faces and noticed an obvious absence. Aside from that, he didn’t find it worrying.

“Gentlemen have a seat. The quicker I inform you of the situation, the quicker you can head out.”

Steve and Rhodes followed Fury’s order and took a seat. Fury leaned over the table to better catch everyone in the eye.

“I’ll go ahead and cut to the chase. We have a situation with Stark.”

Steve failed to suppress the sigh. Once again, Tony had crossed some line that seemed to have stirred up trouble.

“What’s he done this time?” he asked warily. 

“My vote is it has something to do with booze,” Clint assumed with a chuckle, causing the others to give a little laugh.

“I haven’t seen anything in the papers,” Bruce piped up. “If he’s done something, we would’ve heard it.”

“Not necessarily,” Fury stated as he straightened himself away from the table. “Stark was in the middle of a private investigation at what was supposed to be a secure location in a cabin. The only form of security he had was his suit. There wasn’t a need for anything major, but considering the fact that he hasn’t contacted us, it’s a little concerning.”

“How many days has it been since his last contact?” Rhodes asked.

“He was supposed to check in this morning. We tried to reach him, but so far we’ve heard nothing.” Fury turned away and started to pace. “I know it could simply be a sign of him goofing off, or blatantly ignoring me.”

“That’s gotta be it. Ignoring you I mean,” said Clint. “I mean no offense, but you and Tony don’t exactly see eye to eye all the time.”

“Well, have you tried contacting Jarvis?” asked Steve. “If he’s using the suit, he may be able to-”

“You know Tony. He likes to keep his tech close,” Fury replied. “We haven’t been able to get in contact with him through Jarvis, so right now we’re in the dark about what’s going on. Like I said, it could be nothing. Just Tony being Tony. But for my own security, I’d like to send in the team and make sure he’s not slacking off.”

“Director, may I ask, what was Tony investigating?”

“That’s classified Rogers. All I want is to make sure he’s still on task. If something’s happened, then it’ll be a good thing I’ve sent you. Prepare yourselves. When you’re ready, I’ll give you the coordinates to your destination.”

The group traded looks with one another before they rose to their feet to prepare for the trip.

“So what do you think?” Steve asked Rhodes as they made their way out of the room together.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Doesn’t sound serious to me. Fury said it’s concerning, but he doesn’t sound all that concerned. Whatever Tony was investigating, it’s probably taking a little longer than Fury wanted. I'd be more concerned if it's been days since his last contact.” Then his face became quite serious. “Then again, I’ve been through this before.”

“What are you talking about?”

“A situation where it went wrong for Tony, and he went missing in Afghanistan. You know the story.”

Steve nodded as he did indeed know.

“You don’t think it’s anything like that do you?”

“I hope not,” said Rhodes as his heart started to thump with worry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally in such fics involving missing persons, it would be a couple of days before the team worries over an absence, which is understandable. It's early for Fury to become suspicious of Tony just missing a few calls that morning, but I did want to go ahead and send the team in, so Fury's taking no chances in waiting. I'm certain they'll realize Tony's not goofing off once they reach the cabin ;)


	8. Sustenance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony tackles the jalopoli's source of food.

Tony looked up at the fridge handle. 

_‘Food…find’_

He still felt hungry, but he wasn’t sure he could eat after what had just occurred with the arc reactor. He reached for the handle again, and like before, the jalopoli lifted him up with his hind legs. Tony pulled it open and revealed the few veggies, drinks, and meats inside. It didn’t compare to what he had at home, but it had been stocked with enough for his stay in the cabin. 

His eyes fell on the turkey slices and tomatoes. It made him want to make a sandwich out of it, but he highly doubted he’d be able to have enough freedom to make it. Besides that, he still wasn’t sure how getting sustenance was going to work. What would digestion feel like? Deciding to try something easy, he reached for the turkey slices.

_‘No…no…bad’_

_‘There’s nothing bad about turkey! It’s fucking food’_

The jalopoli used its other insect legs to quickly pull Tony away from his goal. Tony strained to use his arms to pull him in the direction of the fridge.

_‘No mate…not food’_

_‘It’s food you stupid whatever the hell you are!’_

_‘No’_

They continued a tug-of-war before the fridge, until the jalopoli reclaimed control of the human arms. It didn’t want to as it preferred to work with his mate, but with his mate being so stubborn it felt it best to take over.

_‘What’s wrong with you? You wanted food didn’t you?’_

_‘Your food…not, jalopoli’s’_

_‘Jalopoli?’_

It clicked in annoyance and scuttled over to the door. Tony rolled the alien name in his head as it reached for the door handle. It struggled in its attempt to open it, but Tony didn’t bother to help instruct it on how to open doors. He wasn’t going to go outside if he could help it. In fact the thought was just as frightening as being merged to the thing. 

_‘Hunt’_ , the jalopoli started to insist _‘Hunt’_

Tony couldn’t imagine what kind of animals the jalopoli would try to hunt. Worst case scenario, it would end up running across a bear and get them both killed. The jalopoli sensed his mate’s worry, so it flashed its bell in blue.

_‘Ease…ease…mate’_

_‘Don’t tell me to ease! You’re going to get us…’_

Tony’s thought became interrupted as the jalopoli tapped into his mind.

_‘No…not this again!’_

But it wasn’t as bad as before. He only did some light tapping into his brain, going just deep enough to get an understanding of how best to work the human fingers. Once he had it, he turned the knob and opened the door. 

It was good to be outside again. In the jalopoli’s mind, it was more of a refresher after having been in his mate’s closed off home. Still, his location was a foreign place, and the animals here were just as foreign. His kind were omnivores, so he wouldn’t have to attempt to try any of the odd prey he encountered. He could survive off of any berries he found, but at the moment he was craving meat.

He hurried forward, controlling all appendages as he headed back into the surrounding woods. 

Its antenna twitched in search of the nearest animal. At one point it came across a little furry creature with a bushy tail, and tapped into Tony’s mind for its name.

_‘Squirrel’_

_‘Squirrels don’t make a good meal’_

The jalopoli disagreed, but on the other hand it would be rather small to satisfy their hunger. It could use something bigger. 

He moved on, scuttling at a quick pace and keeping all its senses on high alert. Eventually it picked up something large and nonthreatening. The jalopoli snuck into a patch of tall grass and crouched down as the creature came into sight in an open field and began to feed on the grass. It fiddled in Tony’s mind again for a name.

_‘Deer’_

Tony was pretty skeptical that the jalopoli would be fast enough to catch it. They were better off going back to the fridge. Still, it ducked as low as it could and moved forward.

_‘Not gonna work’_

The jalopoli ignored his doubts and brought its antenna forward. It kept inching forward as quietly as possible. Tony was just waiting for the deer to take notice, then take flight. Soon enough, the deer raised its head and looked right at them. The jalopoli’s bell was a soft blue. He would show no aggression. He would give it no reason to think of him as a predator. It simply swayed it’s antenna around in a manner that was almost hypnotic. The deer was frozen as it stared. This allowed the jalopoli to inch closer. 

Not wanting the experience of tasting raw deer meat in his gut, Tony struggled to take control of his limbs.

_‘Ease mate…food’_

_‘People don’t eat deer! At least not raw ones!’_

The jalopoli paid him no mind. He got closer, then stopped. The tentacles dropped from his belly, ready to sting the creature into submission just as he had done to Tony. However, their exposure appeared to be just the trigger needed to snap the deer out of his state of hypnosis. It sprung forward, intending to make its escape. Tony was pleased to realize he was going to be spared the taste, but it changed the minute the jalopoli pulled its grasshopper like legs underneath him and launched them with an impressive leap.

The jalopoli landed onto the lower end of the deer’s back before Tony fully realized it. Then to his horror, he felt the action of the jalopoli digging its mandibles into the animal’s hide. He could taste the coppery blood flooding into his mouth and he wanted to gag. The deer bucked, but when the tentacles wrapped around it, the fight was over.

The deer staggered a few inches forward making a terrible whine before it dropped to the ground. The jalopoli released its back, then moved forward to bite into the neck and tear out the throat. Tony wished he could have closed his eyes; wished he could have avoided the smell; most of all of, he wished he couldn’t actually taste it through the jalopoli as it began devouring its kill.

_‘Fuck’_

Tony wanted to be sick then, but it wasn’t happening. As far as he figured, the alien’s stomach was completely fine with eating an animal from his planet, so unless it would vomit it up later, their stomachs would be satisfied. 

_‘Bastard’_

The jalopoli took control of his human arms and used them to pull aside the furry hide or dig deeper into the body. Tony felt sicker at the idea that his own hands were being used for such a barbaric thing as they became coated in red. If there was ever a way to separate from the thing, he knew he could never look at them the same way again.


	9. Intruders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives, which distresses the jalopoli

Once the jalopoli had gotten his fill, he slowly scuttled away from the carcass and toward some shrubbery to rest while the digestion process took place. Tony also felt the fullness of the meal. In fact, it was the fullest he had ever felt before. He never considered himself a big eater, therefore all the deer meat that the jalopoli had consumed was a new experience in terms of meal size.

_‘Why’d you eat so much?’_

The jalopoli made a noise that almost sounded as if he was chuckling at the question. 

_‘Rest mate’_

_‘I can’t’_

_‘Rest’_

The jalopoli settled down and folded his legs against his body. The most he could do for the human legs were lay them atop of one another sideways, while the human arms folded awkwardly in front of him. It was an adjustment, but the jalopoli made it work. The minute he closed his eyes, Tony fought to open them again. The last thing he wanted was to fall asleep while merged to the thing. Who knew if sleeping was the same for it as it was for people.

_‘Sleep’_

_‘I can’t…I…take me back to my home’_

_‘Sleep’_

_‘Take me back!’_

The jalopoli ignored him in favor of dozing off. Tony figured the best thing he could do was annoy the hell out of it so it couldn’t get any sleep at all. But once Tony was left in darkness, he got the sense that the jalopoli was capable of tuning him out. Something about it made him feel alone and disconnected.

_‘The fuck? Hey…HEY, WAKE UP!’_

The jalopoli didn’t stir.

_‘WAKE UP!’_

Still, nothing. Tony felt himself hovering in the dark, trying hard to regain control of his limbs. It proved to be useless. It was like the power had been cut, and a moment later, he could feel tiredness seeping into him. Whether it was the jalopoli’s own tiredness affecting him or the jalopoli forcing him into unconsciousness, he didn’t know. Once the jalopoli’s own sleeping pattern deepened, Tony fell asleep along with him.

 

“Guys, we are coming up on the spot,” Clint announced from his seat up front in the jet.

Steve walked over and peeked down at the wooded land below. 

“Feel like camping Cap?” Clint joked.

“Maybe after we find out what’s up with Tony.” 

“It better not be him just goofing off,” Rhodes announced from his seat further back. “Then again, it better not be anything serious.”

He couldn’t ignore the dread that was starting to settle in his stomach. It had only increased after contacting Fury and finding out that Tony still wasn’t reporting back to the base. He shut his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

“I think it’ll be alright,” said Bruce. Rhodes opened his eyes and looked across the space at him. He gave a nod as if he believed his words.

After discovering the location of the cabin, Clint made a landing in a nearby clearing. 

“Fury said there weren’t any hostiles in the area, so let’s hope he’s right,” he said. The others gave murmurs of agreement as they readied themselves to head to the cabin and solve the problem.

In a near single file line, they exited the jet down the ramp. Steve led the way with his shield in hand. Following behind him was Clint who was readjusting the arrows on his back. Natasha came next, guns at the ready on her side, and trailing behind them without weapons were Rhodes and Bruce.

Several feet away from them, covered by shrubbery, was the dozing jalopoli. His antenna had twitched when the jet had entered the vicinity, causing him to open his eyes. Then it sent a jolt of warning as the people began exiting the jet, making his bell flash red. He immediately gathered his feet under him just as Tony became fully aware of what he was seeing through the jalopoli’s panicked eyes.

_‘Oh thank god! The team!’_

The jalopoli gave a few clicks of disapproval as the group trooped across the clearing. He immediately turned to head further into the woods.

 _‘No!’_ Tony cried in panic. _‘NO! Go Back! Back to my house!’_

_‘Danger mate’_

_‘They aren’t dangerous! They’re my friends! Friends!’_

He could feel his heart starting to pound as the fear intensified. The creature would not listen. He would not allow him to regain control of his limbs so he could turn them around. It wouldn’t trust his opinion or his kind.

_‘You approached me didn’t you! Why won’t you approach them?’_

_‘Multiple creatures. Bad’_

Tony supposed seeing more than one person would naturally trigger fear in any animal, but he wouldn’t give up trying to convince him to go back.

_‘Let me communicate with them! Please. I’ll explain. They’ll understand’_

The jalopoli came to a stop, its bell showing yellow for caution. 

_‘Trust your mate,’_ Tony continued. He would not think of why he had to see his friends. He couldn’t let the jalopoli know this was his chance to be saved. 

The antenna swayed as it tried to pick up any information it could on the intruders from its current position, but received nothing since he was too far away. It wanted to trust his mate. Deep down, all jalopolis trusted their merged mates. It was the key to a healthy partnership since they would always be bonded. He understood that his mate was interested in meeting old friends, but the jalopoli wasn’t sure they were trustworthy. Besides that, there were more important things to take care of than meeting old friends; or rather, one major important thing.

_‘Mate’_

_‘What? Will you trust me?’_

_‘Mate!’_

The colors of his bell filtered between pinks and oranges. At the same time, Tony felt the creature exhibit a strong sensation of affection. It confused Tony at first, until he realized what the jalopoli was getting at. Dread coated his insides and he would have paled if he still had his face.

_‘Oh god…no…no’_

The jalopoli was ready to actually mate with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The team finally made it, but now the jalopoli's ready to get it on with Tony in the woods ;)


	10. Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives, but the jalopoli prepares to begin the mating process

The team slipped out of the trees and came into view of the little cabin. 

“Tough to imagine Tony working in a place like this,” Clint joked.

“Yes. Not nearly advanced enough,” Natasha agreed.

Steve walked up to the front door and knocked. After a couple of minutes of hearing nothing, he tried again.

“Tony? It’s Steve and the rest of the team. Let us in, we need to talk.”

They waited until Clint became impatient. He moved past Steve and started ramming hard on the door.

“Come on Stark! Enough games! Let us in!”

“Hey, calm down,” Rhodes warned. “I’m the one that should be reacting like that.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

Rhodes couldn’t answer. He supposed it was just forced calm. He had hoped that once he saw the cabin, the uneasiness he was feeling would dissipate. There would be a rational answer as to why Tony wasn’t responding to anyone. Rhodes turned to the door to knock instead. 

“Tony! Let us in! If something happened…it’s okay. You can talk to me.”

When there was still no response, Natasha came up with the key and unlocked the door. The others grouped behind her as they entered the cabin. They immediately landed in the living room, but saw no sign of Tony. 

“There’s the suit,” Rhodes said as he made his way over to it, seated in a chair. He gave it a quick once over. “Doesn’t look like it’s working.”

“Tony!” Steve called.

“Is he really not here?” Bruce asked worriedly.

Steve turned to Clint and pointed down a small hall.

“We’ll check the bedroom. The rest of you can check the perimeter.”

Natasha took a seat behind the abandoned laptop to report back to Fury while the rest spread out.

“Tony!” Steve called. “We’re coming to the bedroom. You better be decent.” 

They saw that the bedroom door was already opened, but Steve knew there was a possibility that Tony was just out of sight in the bed. But when they made it in the doorway, they froze.

“Oh god, is that blood?” Clint asked as their eyes immediately found the stains on the floor. 

They hurried into the room. Clint rounded the bed, expecting to see Tony on the floor since he wasn’t on the bed. He turned to the nearby closet and flung the door open.

“He’s not here Steve.”

“No,” Steve agreed. “But there was definitely some kind of a struggle.” 

He walked to a corner of the room while Clint bent down to study the stain. 

“It’s not a heavy amount, so maybe he wasn’t badly injured.”

“Ah, Clint…tell me this isn’t...what I think it is.”

Upon hearing a tone in the captain’s voice that expressed dread, he rose to his feet and walked over. Steve lifted a finger to show him what had caught his attention, and as soon as Clint’s eyes landed on it, he paled.

“Jesus…it’s a, dick.”

“And…a bloody one at that,” Steve added. He turned away from it as the sight was making him quite nauseous. “You don’t think it’s…”

Clint slowly turned his head to him.

“Starks?” he asked in barely a whisper. “I…I think it’s right to assume it’s…his. Jesus, even the balls are there.”

Steve quickly left the room. When Clint managed to tear himself away from the sight, he hurried behind him.

“What the hell do you think happened?” Clint demanded. “What, some insane ex-flame came up here and chopped them off?”

“I don’t know Clint.”

“Something wrong?” Natasha asked as she noticed the distressed men.

“Damn right there’s something wrong!” Clint complained. 

“Guys, we have to find Tony now,” Steve exclaimed. “He’s in more trouble than we thought.”

 

The jalopoli moved at a quick pace. The antennas were twitching furiously to find a nice private location as far from the intruders as they could get. He could feel his mate panicking, and no amount of the word ‘ease’ calmed him.

_‘Don’t…don’t…please don’t’_

He could sense the thing wouldn’t listen. It was ready for sex, and considering his own past, Tony could understand that need. Still, this was different. It was entirely against his will, and the creature did not care. He could feel its concern of being found as well as his mounting excitement just underneath the fear.

_‘Let me see my friends first! Friends…then…whatever you want…I promise I’ll do it!’_

The jalopoli gave him no mind.

_‘Please!’_

It sensed a cool dwelling up ahead in the form of a cave. The mere sight of it sent their shared hearts pounding so strongly that the jalopoli actually stopped. It could feel the fear of his mate was much more intense now; it was on a level that it didn’t understand.

_‘Not the cave...not the cave!’_

Tony couldn’t think of a worse place to be raped than a cave. Concerned as well as curious, the jalopoli yet again tapped into the deep corners of Tony’s mind. And now he was able to pull images of his miserable time in a cave where he was tortured and nearly killed by others of his kind. Tony’s fear was so strong that he not only managed to regain control of his limbs, but he managed to affect the bell so it flashed yellow with fear. Tony quickly steered them away from the cave until they were at least five yards away from it.

_‘Ease mate...ease…no danger’_

_‘Fuck you!’_

Tony didn’t feel like there was any air in his lungs. If the jalopoli wasn’t so alert, he was sure they might have passed out. The jalopoli looked back at the cave. If his mate was too frightened to go in, then it wasn’t the place to be. In his opinion, their first time should be spent in a place that his mate felt most comfortable.

 _‘No cave mate’_ he promised.

_‘Please…’_

_‘No cave’_

The jalopoli took control and sought another area that wasn’t enclosed, yet safe from the intruders.

 

“Oh my god,” Natasha whispered in a sickly tone as she, Rhodes, and Bruce stared down at the abandoned organ in the corner of Tony’s bedroom.

“Do we, know for sure it’s Tony’s?” Bruce asked in a tone that clearly expressed he already knew the answer. 

Rhodes turned to him looking pissed, but then he noticed how pale he’d become. There was even a green tinge to his face, and he knew it wouldn’t do them much good if the Hulk came out just yet.

“Unless Tony had a dude over without Fury knowing, it’s his.” He couldn’t look at it anymore. “Oh god. What the fuck happened? There’s no other sign of a break in other than the back door being opened.”

“Along with the fridge,” Clint pointed out. “I don’t see someone breaking in, getting food, chopping off Tony’s dick, then fleeing with Tony. He’s better than that. Tony would’ve fought like hell.”

“Clint’s right,” Steve agreed. “Tony’s capable, even if the suit wasn’t working to protect him. What baffles me is why there isn’t more of a struggle. Why aren’t there more signs of what happened?”

“Dude, we…we gotta do something about that,” Clint said as he pointed in the direction of the bloody organ. No one made a move to do a thing. Natahsa sighed and left the room.

“I’ll handle it,” she offered.

Bruce rested a shaky hand against his forehead and took a few deep breaths.

“Who could have done this? And where the hell is he?”

“Maybe this person didn’t get far,” Steve guessed hopefully. “Worst case scenario, he did if Tony’s unconscious.”

“We’ll be lucky if he’s got Tony in the woods,” said Clint. 

“He has to be out there,” Rhodes declared. “We’ve searched around the cabin and he’s not here. Let’s start searching the woods. Now!”

The men made no argument against this idea.

 

The jalopoli found a nice small ditch hidden by a cluster of foliage. With the ground littered with leaves, it proved to be nice and comfortable, and even a little moist. The bell began flashing oranges and pinks. It was ready. Of course Tony wasn’t as he was doing all he could to get his limbs moving again.

_‘No…NO…I don’t want this!’_

The insect like legs widened the stance of the body. He moved the human legs further apart as well.

_‘Please…’_

The tentacles under the lower region shifted slightly as the jalopoli unsheathed its hidden dick; a long and sleek translucent organ. It was heavy with sperm, and quivering in anticipation. Tony could feel the jalopoli moving the thing backwards. He tensed as he felt the head of it just touching the area where he himself once had a dick. 

_‘Ease mate…ease’_

But Tony couldn’t ease himself. All he could think of were a great number of expletives as the thing started moving up and moving into his newly created hole. Frantically he tried to urge his own hands to move, or at the least grab the dick and keep it from entering. Unfortunately the jalopoli had his human hands ground firmly to the earth. The only thing Tony managed to do was start trembling, and it was made worse as the jalopoli took his sweet time invading his merged mate. He felt his insides making room as he unwillingly invited his member into him which felt cool and wet. 

It was a first for Tony on two levels, being that he’d never been penetrated by a male, and he certainly hadn’t experienced it with any previous alien creature. The jalopoli continued flashing its colors of affection and willing him to relax. There was no relaxing with the odd pressure tingling his nerves. He refused to feel anything but fear, yet his heart was pounding wildly.

When at last the jalopoli stopped pushing it in, Tony fully felt like a skewered piece of meat. If there was any kind of relief to be had, it was that the jalopoli’s cock was slim. But then the creature began to chirp with happiness as it started to expand. Tony’s own feeling of dread and anxiety mounted on a more intense level.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The mating begins.


	11. Copulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mating continues

He could feel his insides contorting to accommodate the changing mass. Tony screamed to the high heavens as it impacted his channel. The jalopoli just kept chirping as if oblivious to his pain. There was pain that Tony was grunting too, but there was also something else. Something that made him question the possibility of the creature’s cock attempting to ignite hints of pleasure. 

Tony knew pleasure well whenever he’d gone to the bedroom with a woman. His life had practically revolved around it before he’d found a higher purpose as Iron Man. He still had it with Pepper, therefore he was quite familiar with how his nerves sang. But this was another form of that. It was something that made him fear the growing intensity of it might actually knock him out. 

Out course there was a chance that pleasure was only part of the intensity. The other half was being fully aware that it wasn’t a human doing this to him.

_‘NO!...no…no…I’m…I’m human’_

He could barely communicate his thoughts properly as his senses were going a mile a minute. The jalopoli lowered their front half slightly, and his antennas faced forward. 

_‘Don’t…god…please…don’t’_

His begging went unnoticed. 

Tony felt some wetness at the base from within and panicked, thinking he might have some internal bleeding. But this kind of wetness was strange, and hot, and runny. The only thing he could compare it to was a candle with wax running downward. Something was running down the thick shaft and surrounding the edge of the hole. Tony tried all the more to do anything, but the jalopoli had him frozen. 

_‘What are you…fuck…what are you doing to me!’_

If he had to guess, the jalopoli was sealing his dick into his hole. Tony didn’t want to think. He didn’t want to imagine that there was yet another step to this merging process where the jalopoli would, in a sense, merge its dick into his body. His mind went hazy and was filled with an internal kind of moan. Of course the moans expressed his pain, but then the heat began to die down, and Tony was left feeling a comforting kind of warmth that his interior happily clung to. The jalopoli sang out its happiness as the melting sensation was doing what it was meant to. 

Tony felt dizzy. The woods were drifting in and out of his sight as it’s dick twitched. 

_‘Mate’_ the jalopoli classified him happily. _‘Mate…for life’_

Tony felt the jalopoli’s being merged with him on a deeper level. It really was starting to feel like they were one now. The jalopoli twisted their hips a little, and Tony could feel it truly meshed into his flesh as if it was his own dick and not the alien’s. 

Tony couldn’t form anymore thoughts. He wanted to cry.

 

”You see any footprints?” Clint asked as he and Rhodes moved through the trees.

“No,” he admitted sadly. “Though I’m not exactly a tracker. All I can see is that some animal might have passed through.”

“If we don’t find anything, we might have to hit up Fury for more equipment.”

Rhodes paused with a heavy sigh. A few minutes later, he could hear a melodic kind of chirp ringing through the air. He thought it sounded kind of beautiful.

“You hear that?” he asked as he turned to Clint.

“Yeah. Guess the birds around here really like to sing,” Clint assumed.

“It’s kind of nice. Maybe I’ll consider camping.” 

“Well let’s find Tony first huh.”

Rhodes started moving again to continue the search with Clint following close behind. Unbeknownst to them, they had passed their lost friend, trapped behind foliage a couple of yards away.

The jalopoli had taken to beautifully singing as he had begun thrusting. It barely jostled their body as the dick was doing much of the work, pumping up and down like an internal piston. Tony felt the jolts heavily. Through the jalopoli's eyes and past the leaves, he noticed the figures of Clint and Rhodes walking away. There was something of blind shock registering in his mind at the idea that his friends were standing just several feet away from him while he was being raped. He couldn’t even attempt to speak through the jalopoli or even consider any choice words. The slimy, powerful thrusts were too distracting. His nerves were being set on fire in an amazing way.

_‘Mate…mate…my mate’_

Tony couldn’t even think to deny it. His mind was getting cloudy as a wave of pleasure was attempting to break through. 

_‘Don’t feel it’_ Tony told himself desperately. _‘Don’t feel it!’_

But his body was betraying him. It seemed to be sinking further into the jalopoli as if it was only right that his human body was being attacked by this alien. It might as well have been a soft fist pumping up and down, yet the pain was subsiding all the more. Something, maybe the jalopoli, was signaling to his brain that this was good. Tony wanted to shut his eyes as the excitement built. The jalopoli kept at it. His bell was flashing a brilliant pink, and with it, Tony felt embraced with warmth; he felt embraced by love.

Without thinking about it, he felt his mind lean into it as an electric jolt coursed throughout his being. The jalopoli’s own excitement soared, and his bell exhibited the passionate emotions and physical pleasures by showcasing an array of beautiful colors. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if it was this way for all jalopolis that mated. As his singing began to harmonize with Tony’s moans, he wondered if this feeling was unique to those that mated with his mate’s particular species. 

His joy was increased by how well it could please his mate. He had always been confident even though he’d never mated before. He imagined the other jalopolis of the past, looking on in envy. He had been lucky to find this particular kind of mate. Its interior was soft and nicely sensitive, therefore it was quite easy to fill him with joy. It gave its first and only mate all it had. It was going to prove to Tony that it was the best mate he could ever have.

Their body trembled as Tony became overwhelmed. The jalopoli’s thrusting increased, causing them to tremble even more. 

Tony gave a yell when it reached its peak, and the jalopoli cried out as well.

It stopped its thrusting and sank against the ground, now exhausted. Tony felt as if he’d gone over the edge as he faded in and out. But then there was a flood pouring through the head. Something gooey and warm was filling him hard and fast.

The jalopoli gave a few quiet chirps as he filled his mate; as Tony gave a sickly moan and tried to hang onto awareness. He knew he should just welcome unconsciousness. What good was it to be awake to feel the alien’s seed absorbing into him?

_‘Mate…mate?’_

_‘No…no…fuck’_

Tony knew it was done. There was no expelling it with the cock sealing it all in. All he could feel was the high of the moment and nothing else. He couldn’t even think anymore, nor could he panic. The jalopoli saw no issue in his mate’s emotions. It simply eased their body onto the ground as his dick continued to fill him with the necessary element for breeding.

_‘Good mate…strong mate…my mate’_

The praises from the jalopoli did nothing for Tony. He was drunk and lost. Though he was full, he felt empty. 

_‘My mate…adore, my mate’_

The brilliant flashing colors settled on a vibrant pink. Tony felt the heat of love embrace him again like a hug, and had no choice but to let it envelope him.


	12. Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A discovery is made

Steve and Bruce returned to the cabin just as Clint and Rhodes made it back. Both teams expressed sour looks, which automatically told the other how successful they had been in finding Tony.

“Nothing?” Steve asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” said Rhodes bitterly. He sighed as he ran his hand over his head. “There’s got to be something we missed.”

“Maybe. We’ll check in with Fury,” Steve declared. “Maybe he can finally inform us about Tony’s mission.”

The others agreed and followed him inside.

 

The warmth surrounding him was still present, but only faintly. It provided a coziness that almost made Tony want to drift off just at the jalopoli was currently doing. All his energy was sapped. He felt sickeningly yet comfortably full. He could barely muster a coherent thought, but he forced himself to do so nonetheless.

_’Please…please...friends’_

_’Mate?’_

_’Take me…to…my friends’_

He felt a phantom kind of soreness that was disturbing him, not to mention the obvious feeling of the creature’s dick still sealed into him. He didn’t even want to acknowledge it. He didn’t want to acknowledge the full feeling he had in his gut from the alien’s seed. He was just desperate to reach the only form of hope he knew. 

_’Friends?’_ the jalopoli questioned.

_’You got what you wanted! You fucked me! Now take me to my friends!’_

The jalopoli gave something of a low growl and flashed red. He couldn’t trust the intruders his mate wanted to see, but he also wanted to make his mate happy. 

_’Take me home,’_ Tony pleaded one last time, before exhaustion seemed to take him completely. 

The jalopoli chirped a few times before rising to his feet. The antennas twitched as he considered the request. He supposed there was a possibility of staying safe while granting his mate what he wanted. He would just have to be careful. If they approached the intruders the wrong way they could attack, or worse, try and steal his mate. The jalopoli chirped angrily at the thought even though he knew logically there was no possible way they could separate them. It just didn’t seem like a good idea, but his mate was desiring his old friends so strongly.

 

“What exactly was Tony researching out here?” Natasha asked Fury as she skyped him over the laptop.

“That’s still classified. Your duty is to locate him,” he said sternly.

“We’re doing our best. So far, we’ve found nothing.”

“I trust you will find something. If you’re unable to locate him by the end of the week, I will send in more agents to do the job.”

“Yes sir.”

She shut the laptop once their talk was over, then turned to the others waiting in the living room.

“Fury’s right,” said Steve. “We will find something. He can’t just be gone.”

“Well, what are the odds that…well…that dick was the only thing left of him?” Clint asked tentatively. His face flushed as he thought back to the dismembered organ they’d found in his room.

“Let’s not think that way,” said Steve. “We will find him.”

 

As evening approached, the jalopoli made its way back to Tony’s cabin. Tony gave no words during the whole trip, and it was barely noticeable how his mood had lightened. It was difficult for Tony to contain his joy properly, especially when it came to his thoughts. It wasn’t safe to formulate a plan, so he would have to find a way around it. Much to his displeasure, he knew it would come down to using his prisoner and rapist to help him.

_‘My friends are good’_

_‘Good?’_

_‘Yes good. I want you to meet them’_

The jalopoli was highly skeptical of this. It twitched its antennas and clicked in response.

_‘Trust me’_

The jalopoli just kept going. It ducked into a nearby bush and waited. His antennas picked up the intruders moving about in his mate’s old habitat. There was some hostility circulating among them, at the same time there was concern. If they were truly his mate’s friends, he supposed it made sense that they would worry for him. It didn't matter in the end. This was just a one-time treat for his mate. He would let Tony see them again, one last time, and then they would move on to their new life together. 

The jalopoli risked moving closer, as quietly as he could, and made the window his goal. Tony's excitement was starting to build. It made the jalopoli happy, and in response, the bell turned orange. 

He used the insect legs to rise them upward, then grabbed onto the window sill with the human hands. They were able to see the team inside, and right away, Tony’s heart started to twist. There was his teammates, just within reach, yet so far away. Natasha browsed his laptop while Steve looked on over her shoulder. To his great joy as well as sorrow, Rhodes was inspecting his broken suit. After a few minutes, he walked away from it. Tony didn’t miss the look of disappointment on his face. He saw Clint walk into the room and pat Rhodes on the back.

“How are you holding up?” Clint asked.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t fool me. I know this is hard on you.”

Rhodes shut his eyes and massaged his temples. 

“It’ll be harder if…if Tony turns out to be…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence and instead, sank into a chair. Tony wished he could just climb right through the window and show him he was still alive. The idea that hopelessness was setting in was bothering him.

“It’s the first day James,” Natasha informed him. “And we’re not giving up anytime soon.”

“I’m not giving up either,” Rhodes stated. “It’s just, I’ve got a bad feeling.”

With Tony and the jalopoli so focused on what was occurring within, they failed to hear footsteps approaching from around the cabin. The jalopoli’s antennas informed him at the last minute, and when he dropped and turned around, they saw a very startled looking Bruce.

“Oh my god,” he whispered.

Tony would have given anything to call out to him. He urged his thoughts to produce sound through the jalopoli’s voice box.

_‘IT'S ME BRUCE! TONY! IT'S TONY!’_

The jalopoli himself, didn’t make a sound. The antennas barely twitched as he stared back at Bruce. He could read that there was something odd about this intruder; that it somehow wasn’t like the others, and that in turn intrigued him in an odd way. 

_‘Danger’_ it thought _‘Danger!’_

 _‘No. Friend!’_ Tony urged _‘FRIEND!’_

The jalopoli took a step back. It sensed that this wasn’t an intruder to trifle with, yet he found himself frozen in fascination. 

“Guys,” Bruce began, in a low tone of awe. He could not take his eyes off the thing. He shifted his gaze downward and took in the unusual sight of the human arms. “GUYS!”

The jalopoli took a few more steps back, clicking in warning and flashing red. The cabin door burst open, and the rest of the team came pouring out.

“Bruce, are you…”

Steve couldn’t finish the sentence as he and the rest took in the sight of the little jalopoli.

“What the hell is that thing?” Clint asked. 

With so many eyes on his person, the jalopoli realized it was time to break his intrigue with Bruce and flee. He quickly turned around and hurried back toward the forest.

“Quick! Don’t let it get away!” Bruce cried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last the team encounters the jalopoli, and unbeknownst to them, they've found Tony.


	13. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The jalopoli tries to avoid capture

The jalopoli worked those human arms in rhythm with its own legs to keep them moving. He wished it could be faster, but the human legs prevented this as they had a tendency to drag. His antenna twitched wildly, reminding him of the intruder that was hunting him not too far away. There was minor peace of mind to know that it was only one following. It gave the jalopoli some confidence that he’d be able to slip away.

_‘NO, NO…MY FRIENDS!’_

Tony didn’t want to believe that his one chance of getting help was done, even with Clint following behind. For that reason he did everything in his power to regain control of his arms and legs. He wouldn’t let the creature take him where he couldn’t be found. He would not remain his mate, filled with alien sperm.

_‘Danger mate…danger!’_

_‘No you shit! They're my friends!’_

Tony wanted to scream.

 

“Did you see that creepy thing?” Rhodes asked the others as he grabbed Clint’s arrows.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, but it’s a good thing we have,” Natasha said as she cocked her gun. 

Bruce stared at it and automatically thought back to the creature’s very human looking arms. 

“Just remember,” he told them, “we want it alive. We’re not out to kill it.”

“If it attacks or opposes any kind of threat, we may not have a choice,” said Steve.

“He’s right,” said Rhodes. “I mean, what if somehow that thing has something to do with Tony going missing? It came to the cabin, so maybe it came before and saw him.”

“It’s possible,” said Bruce. “And that’s why we need it alive. Maybe we can figure it out if it’s true.”

“But if it tries anything, there’s only one way to take care of it,” said Natasha. She indicated her gun. “I’ve dealt with alien creatures before and I do not want a repeat of that.”

Once the team was set, they hurried out the door to catch up with Clint.

 

“Creepy little shit,” Clint muttered as he raced after the thing. 

He glanced back a few times, hoping his teammates would hurry with their weapons. Right now the only thing he could do was keep it in his sights. Not knowing what the alien creature could do, kept him at bay.  
Just before it reached the trees, the creature came to a stop. Clint stopped as well and watched as it turned to face him. He had to admit he was a little nervous since he had no way to defend himself should the creature try anything, and it looked as though it was about to.

 _‘Don’t hurt him!’_ Tony thought desperately.

_‘Danger!’_

_‘No, he’s my friend damn it. He won’t hurt us!’_

Tony could sense that he wasn’t believed. He didn’t know what the jalopoli would do, but if it was anything like what he’d done to the deer, then his buddy was screwed.

_‘Please! I’m begging. Don’t hurt him’_

The antenna twitched as it took in the intruder standing a few yards away from him. So far he wasn’t making a move to strike. He was just standing there, staring back at him with wide eyes. The jalopoli assumed the intruder was scared of him, yet he sensed some kind of determination rolling off of him. He couldn’t take the chance that it wouldn’t hurt him and his mate. His mate would carry his offspring, so it was his duty to protect him at all cost.

The jalopoli readied its grasshopper like legs. Tony tried furiously to regain control. When he felt no sense of grasp on his own human appendages, he willed his teammate to move.

_‘Run Clint…RUN!’_

The jalopoli sprang forward. Clint gasped and threw his arms over his face just as the jalopoli landed on him, knocking his body to the ground. He hissed at the intruder and snapped his mandibles. Clint cried out and did everything he could to push it away.

_‘Don’t hurt him! DON’T!’_

“Clint!”

A gunshot followed Natasha’s cry. The jalopoli snapped angrily and jumped away. The bell shifted wildly between yellow and red. 

Rhodes tossed Clint his bow and arrows as he rose to his feet next to Natasha, who had her gun aimed on the creature. Steve and Rhodes spread around, making a near circle around it.

“Remember, don’t kill it,” Bruce warned. “I’m going to try and get around behind it.”

He glanced down at the rope net in his hand and hoped it would be good enough to capture the thing since they really had nothing else. The jalopoli clicked his mandibles in warning, all while his mate continued to beg it not to hurt his friends. As far as the jalopoli was concerned, they were no real friends. They were predators. He shifted in the center of them, looking from one intruder to the other as he tried to decide who to go for first.

_‘They’re not gonna hurt us!’_

_‘Mate, be calm…be calm’_

But Tony couldn’t be calm when guns and arrows were pointed his way. It was imperative that he relayed the message of who he was. _‘Think! Think!’_ Gaining control of his limbs wasn’t working, and even if he’d been able to do it, he was sure he’d end up spooking the team even more. 

The jalopoli scuttled to the side as it noticed Bruce as the only figure moving around behind him. He dropped his eyes down to the net in his hand.

“My god, those arms,” Rhodes said while cringing at the sight. “I didn’t want to believe it, but the longer I look at them, they really look human.”

“Yeah,” Bruce agreed. I’m thinking, they really are human arms.”

“That’s pretty insane,” Steve said quietly. “Then again, we’ve encountered insane several times.” 

The jalopoli risked turning away from Bruce as it tried to find the best opening in the circle. There was something of a gap between Rhodes and the moving Bruce, so he went for it. The back legs sprung him forward, but right when he had decided to move, Bruce had also decided to throw the net.

The thick rope landed atop the jalopoli, throwing it off and sending it crashing back into the earth.

“You got it!” Clint cheered as he and the others raced forward to help Bruce secure the fighting animal in the net. 

He attempted to use the human arms to rip the rope apart, but it wasn’t happening. The jalopoli shrieked in fear and anger. Bruce ignored it in favor of tying up the end to ensure it couldn’t slip out. 

“I think we’re good.”

The team now stood over the jalopoli and watched as it gave little growls and began biting at the rope. Their faces expressed the continued awe at the existence of such a thing.

“It might escape if it keeps that up,” Rhodes noted.

Bruce shook his head.

“Hopefully it won’t before we can get it back to the cabin. We should have something stronger in the jet.”

“Well, we got the thing, and it’s alive,” said Steve. “Now we just have to figure out if this has anything to do with Tony.”

Rhodes crouched down as close as he could to the jalopoli. He continued to bite at the rope, but after a few minutes it stopped and stared back at him. Rhodes swallowed, still feeling disgust at the thing from its jelly bell body, to the creepy insect legs. But when his eyes shifted down to the more human parts, his heart twisted.

“I…I didn’t want to say this, but those human hands…”

He couldn’t finish the sentence, and so he looked around to the others to see if they had caught on. They were all silent as they stared, but it was Bruce who broke it.

“Yeah, I noticed them right away. In fact, I’m quite familiar with that pair of hands. But it can’t be.”

He started to pale, and his stomach was turning horribly. Clint was shaking his head.

“If…if you guys are saying, what I think you’re saying…”

“That’s just it,” said Bruce. “I don’t know what I’m saying, or how such a thing could even be possible. But those hands, remind me an awful lot of Tony.”

Tony had felt all the fears of the jalopoli, being that he wasn’t sure if his friends would actually end up killing him. But upon hearing what Bruce had said, his heart leapt. He was sure he could cry, because the fact that they could notice such a thing offered him hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those human limbs are attention getters


	14. Prisoner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team try to figure out what to do with the jalopoli

Steve did all the dragging as he pulled their captive along. The fighting jalopoli had no chance stopping the cap considering his strength, and that only made him worry all the more. It had flashed red for a good length of the journey, now it showed yellow.

“The way it changes colors is, weird,” Clint noted as he and the others trailed just behind Steve. He turned to Bruce. “What do you think it means?”

“I don’t know. It’s got to be a form of communication.”

“You think it’s got some intelligence?” asked Rhodes.

Bruce simply shrugged.

“Hey, I know about as much as you guys. Maybe it’s smart, or it’s just a dumb animal.”

Tony felt himself fuming a bit at what he took as insulting. He could only picture Bruce’s face if he learned the jalopoli’s story. It had been clever enough to hitch a ride and find another way to achieve what it desired. Unfortunately what it desired, was him. With that thought in mind, he tensed at the reaction that would happen whenever they found out what was actually in the ‘dumb animal’.

“So, where do we start with this, thing?” asked Natasha.

“First thing we should do is properly secure it,” said Steve. “Maybe those chains hidden in the jet could be useful.”

Bruce cringed as the chains he was referring to, were test chains meant to keep him secured while in his normal human form. They’d been strong, but on the whole, not strong enough.

_‘Bad…bad’_

_‘It’s fine…we’re going to be okay’_

_‘Bad…bad. Predators mate!’_

Tony couldn’t say he felt bad for how frightened the alien was. He realized it was probably pointless to make the argument that his team wouldn’t harm them. Still he believed it was important to try since regaining control of his limbs still wasn’t happening. 

The jalopoli, jolted as it made a sudden move to kick. And such a motion jolted the dick still firmly planted deep within Tony. For the briefest of moments, he was taken back to that moment in the ditch where the jalopoli had taken him. Where he had thrusted and shot his seed inside him. The thought made him shutter, but the jalopoli took it as another kind of emotion.

 _‘Mate,’_ it thought affectionately, _‘My mate’_

“Look it’s turning pink now,” Clint pointed out. “Hey, do you think it could be a female?”

“Just because it turned pink?” Natasha questioned.

“No, just…well when it changed, it made me wonder.”

“We’ll figure it out,” Steve promised. “Someone fetch the chains. We’re almost at the cabin.”

Clint and Natasha walked off to handle the task while Bruce and Rhodes followed Steve into the cabin.

Once the door was shut behind them, the jalopoli put up an even stronger struggle. 

“Come on, come on, settle down,” Steve tried as he pulled the captured creature into the living room.

But the jalopoli would not calm down. It frantically bit at the ropes and even reached a hand through the ropes to try and claw at the captain. 

“Be careful,” Rhodes warned. “Even though they look like human hands, there could be something else going on.”

“Right.”

Bruce crouched down to observe it closely. He really was fascinated, and a strong part of him wished he could cart it straight to the lab so he could learn everything about it. Being that he was without any of the necessary equipment, he couldn’t imagine learning much. He supposed he’d have to make some estimations by comparing it to a jellyfish and a mantis. So far they were the closest animals he could compare the thing to. 

The jalopoli paused his fight as his antenna twitched. Slowly it rolled his eyes over to meet Bruce, and for the first time, Bruce notice they seemed to be almost as human as the limbs. His eyes dropped to the human hands again, and his stomach twisted horribly. He shifted his gaze to the human like legs, oddly stashed at the end with the insect legs in-between.

“I think we can safely say this isn’t an unexplored creature from earth,” said Rhodes.

“Absolutely,” Bruce agreed. “It’s just…strange how it seems to be a mesh of various animals.”

 _‘And me Bruce!’_ Tony thought wildly. _‘AND ME! TONY!’_

The bell shifted to red as the jalopoli clicked his mandibles in warning at Bruce.

“I’m not gonna hurt you buddy.”

Bruce couldn’t stop looking back at the hands. After that, he took in the deep, brown, human like eyes. 

“Bruce?” Rhodes questioned, but he was ignored.

Bruce was unaware of moving closer with an outstretched hand.

“Uh Banner, I don’t think you should do that,” Steve warned, but neither he nor Rhodes made a move to stop Bruce as they were somewhat frozen by the scene.

The antenna of the jalopoli twitched as Bruce’s hand moved closer, yet he wasn’t receiving the signal that there was danger. He stared at the doctor, and even with his antenna going, he couldn’t get a read on what made him different from the other intruders. Then he looked at his hand. It was like his mate’s hand of course, and he wondered if this intruder had somehow picked up on the fact that his friend was now his mate.

Regardless, the jalopoli raised Tony’s right hand, moving slowly toward Bruce’s. He didn’t know the point behind the act. He wasn’t expecting some special kind of connection to form. It was just another hand, like his mate’s, and right now he was compelled to touch it.

Tony thought nothing as the jalopoli moved it toward Bruce. The anticipation almost sickened him. 

Both hands were moving toward each other. 

No one spoke. No one breathed.

And then, the flesh of a palm touched the other as the hands came together. 

Bruce shivered and exhaled a gasp at the feel of it. His mouth dropped open as he looked past their hands to the creature. The jalopoli registered nothing out of the contact, but it was a different story for Tony. 

_‘Bruce’_ , he thought thankfully.

The name floated in his mind like a peaceful breeze that filled him with joy and relief. He felt the emotion welling up, willing him to shed a tear, but he couldn’t. Bruce worked his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but couldn’t.

Then the front door opened and the jalopoli quickly pulled his hand away with a hiss. It immediately went back to trying to break free.

“Bruce, you alright?” Rhodes answered.

He didn’t answer. He simply rose to his feet slowly as Clint marched over with the chains.

“I found them,” he announced. He paused as he noticed the other two gawking at Bruce who gawked at the jalopoli. “Did I miss something?”

Rhodes slowly pointed at the scientist.

“Bruce made contact with it.”

“What?” cried Natasha.

“They touched hands,” Steve clarified.

This horrified Clint who dropped the chains.

“Are you crazy Bruce? We don’t know shit about it. What if it’s skin is toxic or something.”

“It’s not toxic,” he confirmed.

“You’re so sure?” Natasha asked.

“I am,” he said with a nod as he continued to stare. “It…it’s definitely a human hand. And, well, when I touched it…”

“What?” Steve prodded.

Bruce took a step back from the jalopoli as Tony bore his eye’s right into Bruce’s. 

“I don’t know. I got a strange feeling that it’s connected to Tony. Granted a hand feels like any other hand, but somehow, I could’ve sworn…but it’s ridiculous.”

Clint glanced at the others as they all tried to take the information in. Then he glanced in the direction of Tony’s room.

“Well, maybe somehow it’s not,” he started, drawing everyone’s attention. “I mean, we did find Stark’s dick in his room. Maybe it’s not a longshot to believe this creature’s responsible, and it’s in the habit of cutting off parts and, well, stealing them for his own limbs.”

“Well then why didn’t it…nevermind,” said Rhodes. If such a theory was true, he couldn’t figure out why it would mess with Tony’s genitals if it had no intention of taking them.

“Whatever the story is, we definitely have to keep a close guard on it,” said Steve. “I’m starting to get an odd feeling that it really did have something to do with Tony.”

As carefully as possible, Steve loosened the end of the net as Clint prepared himself with the chains. The bell flashed red as its mandibles snapped wickedly. It didn’t trust what they were about to do, but unfortunately for him, both men were too fast for it to make a quick getaway. With Rhodes holding down one of the human legs, Clint was able to snap on a cuff. The jalopoli launched a kick back at the men, which proved perfect for Steve since he was able to grab it and hold it in place for the second cuff. 

“Okay,” Clint said in-between panting, “we just…got to figure out, where exactly to hold him.”

“As long as his movements are somewhat restricted, it shouldn’t be too hard,” said Steve. “Plus the weight of the chains helps. But we’ll have a guard on it at all times.”

“Agreed. Who’s taking the first shift?”

They all looked at Clint who groaned.


	15. Curious

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While guarding the jalopoli, Clint sees it behaving oddly

“Creepy,” Clint muttered as he stared down at the jalopoli, securely chained in the living room.

The jalopoli just looked at him and clicked his mandibles. He wasn’t impressed with this being watching him so closely. More than that, he wasn’t okay with what his mate’s friends had done to him. The bell flashed red from his growing frustration. His antenna twitched, informing him that the odds of escaping were pretty low unless these creatures, these humans, got reckless. Until then, he would have to wait.

But it was difficult when all he wanted to do was go back to breeding his mate again. Once had not been enough even though he’d filled Tony well.

The red faded and shifted to pink.

“Weird,” Clint muttered. “Why do you do that?”

The jalopoli just clicked in response. Clint shook his head before settling down in a chair. 

At that moment, Tony attempted to regain control of the limbs. He felt the alien give up his guard over them since it was so focused on escaping. He reached out in the unique way that he could and felt the tips of his fingers. He wiggled those fingers and turned them into fists. 

_‘Pencil, I just need a pencil,’_ he thought desperately. Anything to write with would do.

_‘Mate?’_

Tony internally groaned. 

_‘No’_

He’d had enough. Now that his friends were here, he wouldn’t have to bother with the thing he was attached to. Sure they would still have to figure out a way to get him separated, but for the moment he was in a good situation.

“Clint.”

Said Avenger looked into the hall where Steve stood in the entrance.

“If you really don’t want to guard him all night, especially alone, I can-”

Clint just waved a hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I was annoyed before, and still am to be honest. But I don’t think I’d be able to get any sleep even if I wanted to.” His eyes dropped down to the jalopoli. “Not after…this. I might get nightmares if I try to shut my eyes. You guys go on and get some rest. I'll be fine.”

“Well, we’ll be in the back if you need us.” Steve too dropped his eyes to the creature. “First thing tomorrow, we’re contacting Fury.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t have contacted him now?” Clint questioned. “I’m sure he’s still up. As a matter of fact, Fury might not ever go to bed.”

“Well, I’d like one more day to try and figure out Tony’s whereabouts. Maybe somehow that creature is connected to it.”

Clint shuddered when he noticed the jalopoli reaching for him with the right hand.

“I think Banner’s taken an interest in it,” Clint theorized. “If he has, he won’t get much time with it once we tell Fury.”

Steve just glared at the creature before turning away.

“If it’s dangerous, then all the more reason for Fury to do whatever has to be done with it.”

_‘No damn it!’_

Tony could just see Fury setting him up to be destroyed or taken apart in a lab. They’d never know it was him, until it was too late. The jalopoli chirped and took back his arm.

_‘Don’t…I need my hands! Just for a minute!’_

_‘Mate…need mate’_

Tony was so flustered, he didn’t fully grasp what the jalopoli was communicating to him, nor did he acknowledge the flashing pink of their body.

 

Sometime later, Clint had settled in quite the relaxed manner in the chair as he browsed on Tony’s laptop. Every now and then he glanced at the jalopoli to make sure it was still in place. The jalopoli clicked at him as well as made little growls. At one point he tried testing the strength of the chains on his legs, but when he drew Clint’s attention too much, he stopped. 

He was getting anxious now. There was an energy rising within him, and such energy made the dick lodged within Tony, twitch. Tony jolted and his mind began to race. The jalopoli clicked softly now and sent him the obvious sign of what it wanted to do.

 _‘No!’_ Tony thought desperately, _‘Not here! Not with my team here! NOT IN FRONT OF CLINT!’_

But the jalopoli didn’t seem to care at this point. It was stuck and it had a need that had to be fulfilled.

_‘Please…you can’t!’_

The jalopoli raised itself up and slowly began to thrust his dick within his mate. Tony was reacquainted with the sensation of a piston pumping into him, which was made worst as it started picking up speed.

_‘God…fuck…noooo!’_

The song of passionate lovemaking tore from the alien’s throat as Tony fell into a panic attack. He was forced to once again feel the heavy jolts.

Clint had finally caught on as he slowly turned to the creature making the strange motions.

“What the hell?” he murmured. As the jalopoli’s thrusting became more intense, Clint actually jumped from his seat. “Guys! GUYS!”

_‘Fuck’_

Tony urged himself to try and get control; to try and stop the assault. He couldn’t have Clint seeing this, especially the rest of the team.

_‘Clint…ahh…don’t look!’_

The rest of the crew hurried into the living room and froze at the odd sight of the jalopoli jiggling and humping on the spot.

“What the hell is it doing?” Natasha questioned. She pulled her gun and pointed.

“Is it preparing for an attack?” Rhodes wondered.

They made a wide circle around it as they all moved to better observe it. Tony felt he could just die right there. The thrusting was starting to form an intense pleasure that he tried hard not to feel, but it was impossible.

 _‘No…god’_

Shame coated him like it never had before as his team unknowingly watched the creature mate with their missing teammate. Tony tried not to think. He just tried to work one of his arms and found success as he rose the right one up into the air.

_‘Please...please...help me!’_

“It’s not going to self-destruct, is it?” Clint asked, prompting them all to take a step back.

_‘It's me...TONY...PLEASE!’_

But as quickly as Tony had raised the hand, the jalopoli dropped it and gave a warning growl before singing again. 

“No,” said Bruce as he watched carefully. “If, I didn’t know any better, I’d say it was, mating.”

“Mating?” Steve questioned. “With itself?”

“It looks that way,” said Bruce. “Then again, we don’t fully know how it functions. There’s got to be something else going on.”

Tony looked at their faces through the jalopoli’s eyes, pleading for them to make it stop. But they didn’t, because they had no idea. Suddenly he didn’t want them to know it was him. He didn’t want them to know what they were actually watching. 

The jalopoli slowed down with its thrusting and soon enough, stopped altogether. Tony thought of nothing as the warmth of the alien’s seed began to fill him. The shame and horror were just too great. Everything was starting to grow blurry and dark. He took in his teammates faces one last time as the jalopoli filled him to the brim; as darkness pulled him into unconsciousness.


	16. Intuition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce gives into his hunch by studying the jalopoli

“Bruce, do you really think this is a good idea?” Steve questioned. His eyes drifted to the creature that appeared to be sleeping.

It was morning, and the plan had been to contact Fury immediately, however Bruce had a particular request that was throwing a wrench in the works.

“No,” he admitted as he too looked at the creature. “But, I don’t want SHIELD to get their hands on that thing yet. I just have this feeling it has some connection to Tony, and if I can just sneak it into the lab, I may be able to uncover a few things.”

“But we need you here man,” said Clint. “We’re not done looking for Tony.”

“I’m sure the other agents can help you,” Bruce insisted, “but, I feel my assistance is better suited for figuring out what we’ve found.”

He knelt down by the jalopoli and took his human arm in his hand. The creature barely stirred as Bruce ran his fingers up and down it. Clint cringed and looked away.

“I still say you shouldn’t be touching that thing.”

“I think it’s safe enough. And I really believe we should keep this quiet, at least for now. If I don’t find anything, we’ll spill the beans.”

Steve looked at the others to get some idea of what they thought about this. They looked just as conflicted as he felt. Still, he trusted the doctor to know what he was doing, especially with the Hulk inside of him. If the creature tried anything unexpected or dangerous, he supposed the Hulk could handle it well enough. The biggest problem was still uncertainty.

“Alright. I don’t like this, but I trust you Bruce. If you think it’s important.”

“I do. And I promise, we’ll let Fury know after I do more research.”

Clint walked over and bent down to really look at the human hands.

“Those hands really have you convinced don’t they?” he asked.

“Well, I still don’t understand,” Bruce admitted. “Part of it is natural curiosity, and another, is a feeling. Come on guys. None of you can sense it?”

They all traded looks with one another, then Rhodes moved closer.

“I gotta admit, it’s starting to get to me too.”

“So it’s settled,” said Steve. “Bruce, you’ll see what you can find out about that thing, and the rest of us will keep looking.”

Bruce gave a nod and dropped the hand.

“Okay. I just need help getting it in the lab, then I’ll take it from there.”

 

Bruce sat in the back, staring at the creature as Clint piloted the jet back home. He was secured in place on the floor and remained unconscious since the move from the cabin to the jet. Every now and then it twitched, threatening to awaken, but so far it hadn’t happened yet. 

“Just stay like that,” Bruce muttered.

“You say something Bruce?” Clint called.

“Nothing.”

His eyes fell to the human limbs again. Right away Tony came to his mind, and he couldn’t help feeling a little nauseated at the idea that it really did belong to him. After all, they had found the dick in his room, and it was highly unlikely that it could belong to some stranger.

“You know what…” He trailed off as he reached for his emergency bag. After fiddling through the supplies within, he pulled out a needle.

He took a deep breath and released it before walking over to the alien. His hands shook just lightly before he lowered the needle to the human arm. 

 

When consciousness greeted Tony, the first thing he noticed were the bars in front of him. Second came the realization that he was in his old lab. For a split second he thought the horrible nightmare was finally over, but as the jalopoli’s antenna drooped before his eyes, his hope crashed.

He inwardly groaned and unconsciously made to move, and that was when he felt the alien body shift.

_‘What?’_

He was so used to the jalopoli taking control, it was now an unusual feeling to take over. He flecked his fingers a few times and moved his legs. Incidentally he ended up also moving the jalopoli’s insect legs.

_‘Are you…dead?’_

The jalopoli shivered involuntarily which gave him the answer.

_‘Trapped mate…bad…bad humans’_

Tony got the sense that he was sulking. It made sense considering they were caged. The question was who had done it. His heart jolted at the idea that his team had handed him over to be treated as some lab rat. To his relief, he heard the voice of the person most likely responsible.

“So, you’re awake,” Bruce noted as he stepped into his line of sight. 

Immediately Tony raised his hands to the front of the cage. The alien’s mandibles went crazy as he attempted to speak.

_‘Bruce! It’s me Tony! TONY! I’m in here!’_

But all that came out of his mouth were clicks. 

Of course he wouldn’t understand. Tony saw it clearly from the look on his face, but that gave him pause the longer he looked back at him. Bruce looked incredibly ill as well as shocked. The expression was enough to quiet Tony since he couldn’t recall Bruce ever looking that way. A moment later he cleared his throat and looked down at a pad in his hand.

“I ah…goddamn it…I…”

Tony felt startled now. Bruce looked to be on the verge of collapsing now, and hints of green were flushing his cheeks. 

Em<’What is it buddy? Somebody die?’

Finally Bruce just slammed the pad down and made a fist. Tony could see he was trembling slightly. Tony’s concern influenced the bell to shift to yellow. The jalopoli couldn’t understand why his mate was suddenly so agitated, but his intrigue with Bruce’s mysterious nature stole his attention.

“I ah…took a blood sample. From your arm.” Bruce hadn’t looked at him as he said it, but now he was slowly meeting his eyes. “They’re definitely Tony’s arms.”

A jolt went through Tony, inspiring him to lift the jalopoli’s body up. 

“That means, you definitely had something to do with Tony.” He started to pace, his eyes scrunched up in deep thought. “I don’t know what the hell you are, or how it works, but it’s clear you took his limbs for your own.”

 _’It’s more than that!’_ Tony screamed in thought, _’Come on Bruce!’_

“That would mean Tony’s just a torso somewhere. It would mean he’s dead.” He stopped pacing and glared hard at the jalopoli. “It would mean you killed him.”

_’NO! No Bruce…I’m here! I’m here!’_

_’Mate?’_

_’Shut up!’_

“But, I went further than that. I took more blood. I did tissue samples. Some of what you are can’t be processed so easily, but the other side of you can.”

Bruce walked up to the cage and stared at the jalopoli. The jalopoli just hissed back.

“You are part human…part…Tony. And I…just can’t shake the feeling that he might not be digested by you. Maybe it explains why you were hanging around the cabin when we first found you. I know it’s crazy. It doesn’t make any sense, but…”

He bent forward and the jalopoli managed a step backwards, clicking the mandibles in warning and flashing red. Bruce stared Tony right in the eyes who didn’t look away.

“Are you…Tony?”

His heart, which was shared with the alien’s, leapt for joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruce is onto something ;) Tony's never been closer to someone knowing he's in there


	17. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce discovers more, much to Tony's relief

Tony’s excitement caused the jalopoli’s body to jump for joy. Finally someone was onto something, and he was pleased that of all people who could have caught on, Bruce was the one to figure something out.

_‘Yes Bruce…YES!’_

_‘Danger mate…danger!’_

_‘Shut up. He’s not dangerous! He’s my friend. We can trust him!’_

Bruce still looked baffled as he stared at him as though he couldn’t quite figure out why he’d asked what he did. He raised a hand to his forehead to massage the temples.

“Okay okay, hold on. I could be…misreading or…jumping to conclusions.”

_‘You’re not Bruce! YOU’RE SPOT ON!’_

He started clicking his mandibles madly before the jalopoli took control of them.

 _‘Calm mate!’_ he ordered as his bell flashed red and the antennas twitched as he stared at Bruce. He had a bad feeling about this human. He was accusing his mate of being Tony, and while that might have been true at one point, it didn’t matter. Tony was his mate now, and he would not let him have anything to do with this human. 

Bruce let his eyes wander down to the human hands. If the thing was really Tony, then perhaps he still had enough of his mind to prove it. Considering his behavior earlier, it seemed it might not be the case, but he had to know.

He moved across the lab and fetched a large notepad and a black marker. 

“Alright, if you’re really Tony, then maybe you can tell me.”

He pulled the key to the cage, but hesitated before opening it. 

“I want to trust you, but…” He leaned away and glanced around. “JARVIS.”

“Dr. Banner.”

“Be sure and keep this lab on lock-down at all times, no matter what happens.”

“Of course.”

 _‘Oh JARVIS’_ Tony thought happily. He couldn’t wait to get back to working with his A.I pal again. 

“Okay,” Bruce muttered. “I’m going to let you out now. I’m not going to hurt you okay. And if you really are Tony, you’ll be able to tell me, hopefully.”

The jalopoli, as well as Tony, was quite tense as they watched Bruce turn the key in the lock. The insect legs shifted under the jalopoli as if getting ready to spring.

_‘Don’t hurt him!’_

The jalopoli didn’t hurt him when the cage was opened. Instead he sprung wildly forward, surprising Bruce who jumped aside. The creature gave an angry growl as he landed and swerved to face the human.

_‘NO!’_

“Easy, I’m not going to hurt you,” Bruce said calmly. He raised his hands to show he was safe, but it didn’t convince the alien.

The jalopoli took off, scurrying between tables and chairs, desperate for a way out. He flashed yellow as fear gripped at his core. He ran straight for the glass door, thinking it was a way out, but smacked hard into it. He clicked, confused at the clear material that wouldn’t allow him to pass through. 

_‘You can’t get out that way! He sealed the lab’_

_‘Mate?...Lab?’_

He swiveled around as Bruce came behind him. The jalopoli was ready, should the human try anything. He had no idea what the human intended to do with the odd objects in his hands.

“Am I wrong?” Bruce asked himself. “Maybe, you’re not what I thought you were.”

Panic seized Tony right away.

 _‘No! Please…mate’_ He hated having to use the term, but it was vital that he get his trust. _‘Mate, trust me. Let me take control! I know how to protect us! I promise! And we’ll get out of this. Just let me…please’_

The jalopoli was very uncertain, but he definitely wanted to trust his mate. Already his antennas were telling him there were no escape areas in this place. Of course this environment was hard to read which meant he could be mistaken, but he could sense that his mate was familiar with their new territory.

He let his bell fall to a calm blue and relaxed the tension in his body. Bruce hesitated before dropping the notepad and marker on the floor. Tony looked at it as he felt the jalopoli relax. The feeling in his limbs returned to him, letting him know he had control again. 

Slowly, he walked over to the notepad. Bruce backed away to give him enough space. 

_‘Okay Bruce…time to blow your mind’_

He grabbed the marker and positioned himself so he could write upon it clearly. Tony narrowed his words down quickly just in case the jalopoli got impatient or scared enough to retake control. When he was done writing, he turned the pad to Bruce and sat back, looking at him.

Bruce’s eyes widened as his mouth dropped. There on the notepad was one sentence: **I am Tony, trapped in the alien! HELP!!!**

“Oh my god,” came his shaky voice as his trembling hand came up to cover his mouth.

The jalopoli twitched his antennas in confusion. It could make no sense of the words on the page.

“Tony…you’re really…in there?”

Tony managed to nod. Bruce didn’t know what to think now. So many questions were swirling in his mind. 

“How…how did this happen?”

Tony took the notepad back and responded.

**Creature snuck into cabin. Absorbed me to be his mate**

Bruce took the pad in shaky hands and backed away as his brain tried to process this. There were still so many questions, but this simple response was enough to hit home.

“Jesus…Jesus.” He looked at the jalopoli who started to hiss and back away. Bruce dropped the pad again. “So, this is a case of two minds in one body?”

Tony eagerly took the marker and wrote.

**YES**

“Okay,” Bruce gasped. He was starting to feel dizzy and actually stumbled back into the table. “Okay…I don’t think, I can deny what I’ve just seen. Oh god Tony…I’m so sorry.”

He dropped to his knees and raised his hands to his face. There was relief, but it was now overshadowed by anguish at finding his close friend in such a bizarre form. 

“Oh god.” He choked as he remembered seeing the creature’s mating behavior. He didn’t want to believe that it was what he actually saw now that he knew the truth, but Tony had stated the creature took him to be his mate. That meant that the alien had been raping him right before their eyes, and they’d done nothing to stop it! 

The dizziness increased, followed by nausea. 

“No…no. I’m so sorry Tony…I’m so sorry.”

Tony’s heart twisted at the emotion that was coursing through his friend.

_‘No one’s sorrier that this happened than me’_

_‘Mate!’_

_‘Stop! Just stop! I need my friend’_

“Before we, go further, I have to let the team know. They’re still in woods looking for you.” He pulled himself to his feet, using the table to steady himself. “They have to know…they have to know.”

He pulled out his cell and nervously dialed the numbers. Tony watched, wondering how on earth Bruce was going to tell them without sounding like a lunatic.

“Hello Steve…yeah, I’m alright. Listen, it’s about Tony.” His eyes drifted over to his trapped friend. “You guys need to head back here immediately! I…I found him.”


	18. Conception

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Tony await the team, then hear some shocking news

“No way!” cried Clint. “How could Bruce have found him?”

Steve was still clinging to the phone even though his brief conversation with Bruce had already ended. His expression had not yet returned to normal. His mouth was still hanging open.

“Steve, what did he say?” Rhodes demanded.

He looked at his teammates. It was up to him to break the crazy news he’d just heard, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. In reality, he wasn’t so sure he fully believed what he heard. Slowly he put the phone down.

“Well, Banner…he insisted that we already found Tony.”

“What do you mean?” Natasha questioned.

He dropped his eyes. With a feeling of impatience, Rhodes grabbed him by the shirt.

“Where the hell is he?”

Steve shook his head slowly as he warned himself that the words were going to sound as ridiculous said aloud as it did in his head.

“There was a reason that creature had human hands and legs. It’s because,” he paused and met his teammates’ eyes, “they belonged to Tony.”

The expected looks of confusion met the captain. Clint’s gaze drifted to the direction of the bedroom.

“So, it’s like when we found that…dick, just lying on the floor.”

“No. The way Banner put it, Tony’s limbs weren’t chopped off.”

“Then what happened?” Rhodes insisted.

“He said it was Tony, merged with that, thing.”

The silence had never been so loud. Steve watched as they traded one another looks of uncertainty. Rhodes was shaking his head and looking quite angry while Clint smirked as he clearly viewed this as a funny theory.

“I know Bruce is just as desperate to find Tony as the rest of us, but, come on.”

“It’s what he said Clint,” Steve insisted. “Banner admits he knows it sounds crazy, but he was serious.”

Clint’s face fell and he turned to Natasha who was giving the captain a steely gaze.

“I know we’ve seen some crazy things in our time, but, but this?” he pressed.

“How could Bruce be so sure? What tests did he run on him?” asked Natasha.

“He communicated with him, with a notepad. I asked for more information, but Bruce was insistent that we hurry. We'll have to see for ourselves.”

“Then let’s get there,” Rhodes stated before stalking away to prepare for the trip. 

Steve sighed. His mind was still whirling. Despite his trust in the doctor, he couldn’t fully get his mind to accept the truth.

“Captain?” Clint questioned.

“Yeah. I’m not sure I can believe what I’ve heard, until I see it.”

 

Tony was pleased that the jalopoli was at least calm enough to take a self-tour of his lab to occupy itself. After successfully communicating with his ‘mate’s’ enemy, Tony expected him to attempt an attack anyways. The most he’d done was pull away the control he had over his own limbs. There would be no more talking to Bruce, at least for the moment. Tony figured the best way to gain the privilege back, was to allow the jalopoli to roam as it wished.

The jalopoli clicked his mandibles and flashed red every time his eyes or antennas picked up something it couldn’t understand. It was an interesting environment, he had to admit, but his major concern was getting out so he and his mate could live in peace. It was time to prepare for the next phase, which would require a proper nesting ground.

Bruce kept his eyes on the traveling creature from his seated position at a center table. He had desperately wanted to chat with Tony more after contacting the team, but when he had pushed the notepad forward, the jalopoli hissed wildly and threw the thing across the room. From there he was able to guess that Tony had lost his control on his captive, which scared him greatly. He wasn’t sure when he’d be able to speak with his friend again. Force and threats weren’t the way to go when he knew nothing about it or the situation. But he couldn’t deny the need to just grab the arms and pull Tony out of there even though he knew it wouldn't work.

The jalopoli had already made two laps through the room and circled near him on his attempt to do a third, but he paused in favor of staring up at Bruce.

“Okay,” he said slowly, not certain how to respond. “I’m getting the impression that you’re going to be present for a while, and not Tony.”

The jalopoli twitched an antennas and clicked his mandibles. 

“Right. If that’s the case, maybe you can talk to me instead.” 

_‘If only’_ Tony thought sadly, _‘He’s not that intelligent’_

The jalopoli turned his back to him, which gave Bruce his answer.

“I guess not.” He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to work out how to shape Tony’s rescue. “JARVIS.”

“Dr. Banner.”

“If you can, I’d like you to get a scan of the creature. See if you can find anything out until I can gain trust with it.”

“Of course. Anything to help sir.”

Bruce nodded quietly and turned to the jalopoli again. 

“You must be hungry.”

The alien faced him.

“It’d be nice to know what you eat.” Bruce turned in the chair so he could fully face it. “Tony, if you can, ask him. See if you can get him to trust me.”

Tony knew what his friend was going for and agreed.

_‘Listen up mate. I’ve pointed this out several times. You can trust my friend’_

_‘Danger…human, danger’_

_‘He’s not. Look you want to get out, and the only way to do it, is if you let me talk to Bruce. He’ll take care of us, I promise’_

But the jalopoli just growled before quickly stalking off to a corner, making both Bruce and Tony sigh.

 

It wasn’t until about thirty minutes later when the jalopoli sauntered up to Bruce, dragging the notepad with a tentacle and carrying the marker in his mandibles. Bruce felt a spark of excitement as Tony took the marker and began writing.

**Eats meat, preferably raw :(**

“Okay,” said Bruce hopefully, “Okay, I think I can work with that. Give me a sec.”

He jumped up and made his way toward the glass door. When it opened, the jalopoli immediately assumed control and made a dash for the opening.

_‘No…no…you’re not running!’_

Fortunately for Tony and Bruce, it snapped closed before the creature could escape. He angrily banged at the doors, hoping it would be enough to release him. 

_‘Stop it! He’s gone to get food for us. Aren’t you hungry?’_

_‘Food?’_

It was enough to calm him, so he backed away from the doors and waited expectantly.

_‘He won’t bring it if he thinks you’re going to run. Back away from the door’_

The jalopoli didn’t like it, but he followed Tony’s advice and moved to the center of the room. Minutes later, Bruce returned with a pate. The jalopoli’s antennas twitched with interest as he caught the scent of meat wafting toward him. 

“I got you some turkey slices. Hope it’s good enough.”

_‘Perfect for me Brucie’_

Bruce set the plate right before them. The jalopoli gave it an experimental whiff before backing away with a small groan.

“If it’s not what you’d like…I suppose I could pull the chicken from the freezer. But, I’m sure you’d rather have that cooked, wouldn't you Tony."

 _‘EAT IT DAMN YOU!’_

He refused to stomach any more raw meat if he could help it. To his relief, the jalopoli bit into a piece of the meat. It wasn’t exactly to the jalopoli’s liking, but it would suffice if it was all that was available. He knew, as of now, it was very important to fulfill their hunger needs. The bell glowed a warm pink which confused Tony.

 _‘Mate’_ it thought in something of an affectionate way which confused Tony.

_‘Enough of the lovey dovey shit, just eat’_

He had to admit he was feeling a little better as more of the turkey entered their system, especially since it wasn’t a deer this time.

“Well, looks like turkey works,” said Bruce, satisfied, as he watched it eat.

“Dr. Banner.”

“Yes JARVIS.”

“I’m afraid a more in-depth scan of the aforementioned creature would be needed before I can assist you in heavy examination. However, I was able to get a reading on sir’s genetic structure within the creature. They appear to be one entity, yet are separate.”

“Thanks. I know it’s going to take further study to figure it out. I just wanted a starting point.”

“Understood. I am still conducting what I can, however there was something I was able to discover about sir that I believe you should know.”

“What’s that?” he asked as he absent mindedly began tapping a pen against the table.

Bruce couldn’t stop looking at the jalopoli. If it weren’t for the horror of what it had done to Tony, he might have been compelled to help it.

“I was able to achieve a reading of sir's biology, and it appears that sir is, pregnant.”

The pen fell out of Bruce’s hand, clattering loudly on the table.

Time seemed to literally freeze for Tony, with the word “pregnant” echoing in the sudden emptiness of his mind. Bruce stared, wide-eyed, at Tony who was too dumbstruck to think or feel anything at the moment. Meanwhile the jalopoli happily ate as his bell continued flashing a pleasant, warm, pink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we get around to the pregnancy ;)


	19. Found

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Come to the lonely cabin in the middle of the woods and investigate odd signals in the area for team Fury. It was a simple one man job with nothing to it. There hadn’t been any threats or major concerns. It was just a simple few days with a simple job. So, it baffled Tony how he ended up leaving it fused to an alien, and becoming pregnant with its offspring.

JARVIS had to be joking. He knew he just had to be. The problem was his anxiety was rising as if he already realized that wasn’t the case.

The jalopoli stopped eating.

_‘Mate?...Mate?...Calm, calm’_

If he could, Tony would have wrapped his hands around the creature’s neck; that is, if it had one.

_‘Calm?...CALM? HOW THE FUCK CAN I BE CALM!...Oh god…I’m…’_

The jalopoli clicked, satisfied that his mate had come to the realization that it was properly impregnated. His second purpose had been fulfilled, and now the only thing left to do was to escape so his mate could properly birth his young and become a proper mother to them.

“JARVIS, are you sure?” Bruce asked. He felt shaky and quite nauseous. “I mean, Tony’s a male, and the last time I checked, men don’t get pregnant.”

“Sir has definitely experienced biological changes in order to conceive. I can perform a second scan if you wish.”

Bruce ran a shaky hand against his brow. 

“I…I…I think that would be best,” he replied in a hollow voice. “Oh god, how am I supposed to tell the team, and Tony.”

He couldn’t drop down before him fast enough. The move startled the jalopoli who stepped back, hissing.

“God Tony…I don’t…I can’t imagine.” He shook his head, eyes full of despair for his friend. He wished the damn thing would just let Tony talk to him. 

Tony looked at Bruce through the thing’s eyes. Even then he had no thoughts, because the horror was so strongly reflected back at him from Bruce’s expression.

“It’s going to be alright,” he cried. “We’re going to fix this, all of it. You won’t have to put up with that monster, or carry its kids. You’ll be you again buddy. I promise.”

With a heavy sigh, and a still frazzled mind, Bruce got to his feet and quickly opened up a screen to begin what research he could using JARVIS’s scans. The jalopoli relaxed and turned away from Bruce in favor of finishing the meal. Naturally Tony had no appetite. 

_‘It’s ridiculous’_ The excitement of the news cleared, and now he was left with a more rational thinking brain. _‘Bruce is right. I couldn’t be. You couldn’t have…changed me that much’_

The jalopoli considered questioning what his mate meant, but decided against it.

_‘I won’t have your…damn…I don’t have a damn womb! I can’t…it’s physically…’_

The thought trailed out of his mind as he recalled the painful moment when the jalopoli had seared off his dick and thrown it away. The whole process had been an excruciating nightmare where he hadn’t been able to grasp all that was happening, but it sickened him to think that the jalopoli had been able to make it so he could carry young despite his gender.

Tony didn’t want to think on it anymore. Not until JARVIS spoke again.

 

By the time JARVIS announced the team’s arrival, Bruce felt he was no closer to solving anything, and Tony was still in a state of shock, particularly since the A.I had confirmed that the pregnancy was legit.

With a sweaty face, Bruce left the lab to greet them.

Looks of confusion and skepticism met him, which Bruce wasn’t at all surprised by.

“Bruce, you better have some outstanding proof to back up your claim, otherwise we left for nothing,” Rhodes stated.

“I…I do. Just come to the lab.”

Steve frowned and stepped toward him, looking quite concerned.

“Are you alright Banner?” He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “You seem really shaken.”

“Of course he’s shaken,” said Clint. “You find out your best bud’s combined with an alien, it’s only natural. I gotta admit, I feel a little shaken myself.”

“Well, recently I’ve learned more about Tony’s situation, so that’s why I’m a little…”

“Is it that bad?” Natasha questioned.

Bruce lost his voice for a moment and could no longer look them in the eye. 

“I think it’s best if you guys take this one step at a time. Right now you need to come to the lab, and see Tony.”

Bruce turned on his heel leading the way back, but the others hesitated as a sinking feeling hit all of them. In the end Steve led the way with the others following.

 

Once it had finished its meal, the jalopoli had taken to exploring the lab again. This time it didn’t feel as skittish about it, especially since it was alone. 

_‘How the hell am I going to tell the team?...How the hell am I going to tell the team?’_

The jalopoli didn’t bother to try and calm his mate since he was failing so far in his attempts. 

Suddenly the bell spiked yellow as Tony was hit hard with terror, thanks to the arrival of the team at the glass door. The jalopoli froze, feeling tense as Bruce led them inside.

_‘Danger…betrayed’_

__

__

_‘They’re my friends,’_ Tony thought weakly, _‘Let me…talk to them…please’_

The jalopoli didn’t like it, and so snapped his jaws while growling loudly. 

“I don’t think it’s happy to see us,” Clint remarked as they all spread out to get a good view. 

“Not it’s, he,” Bruce corrected. They all looked at him. “Remember, Tony’s in there.” 

Now they all looked at the creature more sharply as if trying to find clear hints of Tony Stark within other than the limbs. 

“Here,” Bruce announced as he marched over to the abandoned notepad and marker. “He can communicate. Watch.” 

He set it down before the alien who made to bite the doctor’s hand. If Bruce hadn’t been fast enough, it would’ve drawn blood. 

“Careful Bruce,” Natasha warned. 

“No, I’m alright,” he assured them. “Come on Tony. Come to the surface! You have to let them know!” 

The jalopoli angrily twitched his antenna, still assuming a trap was in place. 

“Let him go,” Bruce suddenly growled. He could feel the Hulk desiring to surface, but he forced him back. 

A minute went by, and no such thing was happening since the creature was still very hostile and showing signs of launching. 

“Bruce,” Steve began quietly, “Maybe this is some trick of the creature. Mimicking Tony, or getting in your head.” 

“It’s him Steve.” 

“Or just his arms…and legs,” said Rhodes in a sickened voice. “Tony might be…this could just be some illusion, or…” 

He stopped talking as the hand reached for the marker and began forming a phrase on the notepad. 

**Platypus, I’m here**

They all turned to Rhodes who was going pale with his mouth dropping at the sight. 

“Oh my god.” 

“Are you for real?” Clint remarked as he gauged that Rhodes’s reaction was confirming Bruce’s words. 

The rest were on the verge of feeling their teammate’s shock, but not quite there. 

“Are we sure?” Natasha asked. Her eyes zoned in on every aspect of the creature it could dissect in the hopes of seeing past the little monster to see Tony. 

“Is this a case of the alien pulling information from Tony’s mind?” asked Steve. 

“JARVIS,” Bruce called. “Tell them…tell them it’s him.” 

“I have detected sir’s genetic code within the creature as well as separate brain waves which confirms Sir is capable of independent thought. It is definitely Tony Stark within.” 

Bruce gripped the backing of a chair hard as he thought of the other news and prayed JARVIS wouldn’t spill that much. 

After a long silence, Steve was the first to speak. They weren't sure how to process the news. For Steve it still didn’t feel real. 

“Alright…alright. I still feel like, it’s impossible. How can…” 

“What’s he writing?” Rhodes interrupted. 

They all watched as the hand started moving across the page again, this time writing a whole lot more than one little sentence. There were gasps and faces turning a sickening white. Bruce too watched, but only out of the corner of his eye. 

No one broke the silence as Tony wrote, and in the end the word 'pregnant' never showed up on the page. 


	20. Stages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony starts experiencing a few stages of pregnancy

It was hard for Tony to get a sense of self without his actual human body. The one thing he felt quite clearly was the dick within him which of course was something he wished he didn’t have a sense of. He hated that he was thinking on it nowadays. It couldn’t be helped, knowing he was pregnant. 

When would he feel it? Would the alien’s belly expand the further along he went? Would something else change internally? Would he have bizarre instincts or cravings?

Such questions and many more circled in his head continuously. 

_‘Ease mate’_

There was no easing as far as Tony was concerned, so it didn’t matter how many times he tried to get him to calm down. He simply sank back into misery and did nothing to retake control of his limbs as the jalopoli wandered around.

For the moment, the lab remained the jalopoli’s and Tony’s room with JARVIS always keeping a close eye on them. Bruce was always careful when entering and leaving. He feared that sooner or later it would slip by and end up wandering the tower. Considering Tony was within the creature, Bruce figured it might not be a bad idea if he at least let it stay in Tony’s room. Then he figured Tony might view it more as unsettling rather than comforting. 

It worked out better that he stayed in the lab since Bruce was in the process of trying to find a solution.

“If I can’t do this on my own, I may have to get some help from Fury’s staff,” Bruce admitted to the others as he settled in the living room chair. 

“You think we can trust them?” asked Rhodes. “I wouldn’t be able to stop feeling like Tony’s been handed over to some mad scientists who just want to dissect him.”

Bruce softly chuckled.

“Well, right now I’m playing mad scientist with trying to work this out.”

“Are you any closer to, well, anything?” Steve piped up.

Bruce shook his head. His troubled thoughts quickly shifted from work, to Tony’s pregnancy. After three days the team still didn’t know. JARVIS couldn’t estimate when Tony would give birth, but his analysis confirmed that Tony would have to give birth by laying eggs. It was just as bad as hearing he was pregnant in the first place and it made Bruce feel all the more like he was fighting against the clock. He barely bothered resting or eating since he definitely wanted his friend back before he had to experience such a thing, but now it was looking unlikely. 

He looked at Steve then at the others and wondered when would be a good time to tell them.

“No,” he answered.

 

The next day, Tony had an answer to one of his questions.

He could feel a slight bloating sensation in the gut that he didn’t really have, yet it was his. If there was anything else to go by, it was how affectionate the jalopoli had been with him. The bell practically stayed pink.

_‘Save me Bruce! Please!’_

The jalopoli barely allowed him to take control, but when he did, words like **Please** and **Hurry** wound up on the paper often. 

“I know Tony, I know,” Bruce replied as he scanned countless scans and other forms of data along the lines of genetics. “I’m thinking, I might have to build something to actually separate you from the alien. I’m getting feedback that insist it’s not possible, but, you’ve still got to be in there right?”

Tony hoped so.

 

The day after that, he could feel his insides shifting in a nasty way. It brought about the most important question of all. When would he give birth?

_‘Eggs…shit!’_

The nausea hit him hard and fast whenever he thought about JARVIS’s confirmation on what would most likely happen. Either way it didn’t matter if it was eggs or a live birth. He would still be giving birth! If there was any minor relief to be had, it was that he at least wouldn’t have to see what had been created in his womb if they were hidden in the eggs. He also theorized that laying eggs might be less painful.

 _‘Damn it! Stop it!’_ he cursed himself _‘Stop thinking like that! Bruce is going to save me! He’s going to save me before that, and this goddamn pregnancy will be terminated!’_

 

“Tony, how are you, holding up?” Clint asked cautiously as he stood awkwardly before the jalopoli, holding their lunch which was a plate of cooked ham slices. The jalopoli just clicked impatiently, eager to get their meal. Tony couldn’t be more pissed.

_‘How the hell do you think!’_

“Right, dumb questioned,” Clint figured upon getting no response from the billionaire. 

He set the plate down and stepped back. Bruce sat nearby and watched as the jalopoli started devouring what had been a large pile on the dish.

“Hey, did it always eat that much, or is it just recently?” Clint asked, frowning.

Bruce tensed. He didn’t at all want to mention that the alien was eating so much because Tony had to eat for multiples now, or hopefully just one.

“Ah…yeah, there’s a reason for that, but it’s complicated.”

 

The following day, the bloating only increased. Tony found it a little harder to remain in the moment as he was becoming all the more aware of the number increasing inside of him.

 _‘How…how many, will I have?’_ he asked the jalopoli.

The jalopoli made affectionate murmuring sounds before answering.

_‘Many mate…many’_

While the jalopoli internally celebrated, Tony sunk into a near unconscious state.

 

By the seventh day, the jalopoli had a new mission aside from being affectionate to his mate. It was vital that he find a place for his mate to nest, but the problem was there was no swamp like area within their prison. 

_‘Nest mate! Need nest’_

_‘Screw the nest! Don’t you understand I don’t want this?’_

His agitated prisoner only became more agitated, and started snapping at Bruce’s ankles. 

_‘No! Jesus don’t hurt him. Just…let me talk to him’_

It hadn’t been pleasant for Tony to crawl up to the ever working Bruce, tug on his pant leg, and write down the jalopoli’s request for a nesting spot. If Tony still had his face, he knew his cheeks would be turning red.

 **Sorry. The asshole alien wants it, not me**

He knew the man would get the hint; that he had to be fixed before any form of a nesting ground was put up. Bruce just sighed and started massaging his temples.

“Okay Tony. I know we’re on crunch time, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think it’s time we told the team.”

Tony sunk down and snapped his mandibles while doing his best to shake his head. 

“Yes Tony. I think they should know. We don’t know what a birth’s going to be like, so if, somehow it goes bad, I could use back up.”

Tony deflated even more. He wouldn’t even meet his eyes. Bruce dropped his head as his heart sank for him.

“I’m sorry Tony. I am doing my best. I can’t guarantee that I’ll have you back to normal before…well, you know. Would you consider letting me tell the team?”

Tony met Bruce’s eyes then as the stomach did flip-flops. He wondered what he had to lose if the team knew. Of course there was the embarrassing side to it, and the looks of disgust and pity he’d receive. He wasn’t sure if he could take that. Still, Bruce knew, and as awkward and terrible as that was, the man hadn’t shied away from him as though he was some kind of abomination. In fact none of the others had when they learned what had happened to him.

With downcast eyes, he wrote his answer.

**Yes**


	21. Knowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of the team learns of the pregnancy

Bruce wasn’t exactly sure how to start. He fidgeted in his seat as he watched the others chow down on their breakfast. In the days that had passed since discovering Tony, the faces of the team hadn't held much emotion. Rarely was a small joke tossed around to lighten the mood. It didn’t feel appropriate of course to go back to the way they were until Tony was himself again. And now Bruce had to pour on more bad news.

“They have to know,” he muttered under his breath. 

“Bruce?”

He looked up at Natasha.

“You alright?”

He turned to the others and saw Steve also giving him a concerned look. Clint and Rhodes clearly assumed he was upset for Tony considering out of all of them, Bruce was the clear example of how they were all feeling. He sighed and gave a slight shake of the head.

“It’s Tony. He’s…he’s pregnant.” 

A fork or two clanged onto plates as they fell from fingers. Clint and Rhodes joined the rest in staring at Bruce, but this time there was obvious shock presented on the faces.

“What?” Clint cried.

“What the hell do you mean he’s pregnant?” Rhodes asked angrily. 

Bruce twitched nervously and ran a hand through his hair. 

“I mean he’s going to, birth that alien’s young, the…jalopoli.” Bruce found it weird to at last refer to what the creature was actually called, but he pressed on. “The whole reason it merged with Tony was to find a mate. And according to JARVIS as well as my own investigation into what I could learn, that thing changed Tony enough to make it possible. He has a womb, and possibly in a matter of days he’ll be giving birth.”

There was stunned silence. Rhodes was shaking his head slowly.

“No…no, you’re wrong! We’re talking two different species here. There’s just no way.”

“There is,” Bruce countered.

“Are you sure?” Steve questioned. Bruce noticed how sickly he was looking. “I mean, is it because he’s been merged? Is that how…”

Steve dropped his head as he blushed.

“Actually, it started impregnating him before we even found him. Even when we captured that creature, it was, well, mating with him right before our eyes.”

The clear nausea shown in their faces, worsened upon hearing this much. Clint turned green and started sinking down in his chair.

“Oh shit. I…I remember just standing there, watching…fascinated. Damn it, why didn’t I do something!”

“We didn’t know Clint,” Natasha informed him as she rested what she hoped was a comforting hand on his shoulder. “We all just watched remember.”

“But we should’ve know!” Rhodes cried. “We should’ve figured it out sooner…Jesus.”

Everyone dropped their heads as the guilt weighed over them. 

“None of us could have known or even imagined something like this,” Bruce started quietly. “We’ll always be kicking ourselves for it, but the thing to do now is to make sure he’s back to normal. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner.”

“Sooner?” Rhodes questioned. “How long have you known?”

“Since the day you learned about Tony.” Bruce dropped his head, unable to meet their eyes.

Rhodes jumped to his feet.

“What! Why the hell didn’t you tell us?”

“Tony didn’t even want to tell you when he communicated with you. It was hard enough for him to let you guys know he was there.” He could feel the Hulk stirring within him. “I hated to tell you without his permission. After what he’d been through.”

Rhodes calmed and took his seat. He felt he could understand how hard it must have been for Tony to let them in on so much.

“So that’s why, that japolly’s been eating so much,” said Clint.

“Jalopoli,” Bruce corrected. “And yes. He’s going through the stages already. He’s looking bloated, and from JARVIS’s theory, Tony will have to lay eggs. If that’s really the case, then it won’t be long.”

“But, surely you can change him back before then!” Rhodes begged.

“That’s all I’m trying to do. I think what it’ll come down to is building a machine that will be capable of separating the two, but the last thing I want to do is rush and make it worse for Tony.”

“Then you’re going to need help,” said Steve. “I say we inform Fury. That way Bruce can have a team that can make this happen as fast as possible.”

“Do we really want to do that?” Rhodes questioned.

“I think it’s best,” Steve argued. “We’re all very protective of Tony right now, but none of us have the know how to help Banner in this situation, so the sooner he can have help in saving Tony, the better.”

 

The jalopoli was moving a little sluggishly now, which matched Tony’s own senses and feelings. He didn’t know how he knew, but he was already close to giving birth. If anything he was satisfied that his captor was starting to feel it. Just this morning a sense of morning sickness took him, which in turn caused the alien to vomit up their breakfast.

_‘That’s what you get, bastard’_

But later he felt the horrible emptiness that followed emptying the stomach’s contents. Thankfully Bruce handled his need by getting another plate for them. This time it was cooked chicken, and though it was good, Tony felt himself almost turned off by it. As the jalopoli ate, Tony started figuring out why he wasn’t appreciating it.

_‘Oh god…I…I think I prefer it…raw’_

_‘Mate. Good’_ the jalopoli complimented.

Tony never told Bruce or anyone about his new craving for raw meat.

At the moment, the jalopoli had no energy to wander around trying to find some nesting spot. He didn’t trust his mate’s friend to find one, and it was necessary to have one now.

 _‘Nest…need nest’_ , he thought as he plopped down to rest. 

As he stared around the still very strange room, his thoughts drifted to his old home. He supposed his kind were in a similar position as he was; awaiting their mates to give birth. The jalopoli couldn’t help imagining how his species would have handled seeing what kind of mate he’d decided upon. They would understand his desperation, but a handful was liable to shun him. He’d been alone for so long this wouldn’t have made a huge impression on them, he was certain, but they would have agreed that he’d done the right thing in getting some kind of mate. 

He thought about his merged kind setting up nests in the marshiest areas of his old home. The bell settled on a calm blue color as the images played in his head so as to share them with his mate. But Tony wasn’t moved.

 _‘You don’t belong here,’_ he thought nastily. _‘I don’t feel sorry for you at all’_

The jalopoli wasn’t hurt by the words. Instead his bell shifted to a deep purple as he thought about his offspring. He was confident they’d be alright, but it was still natural to worry.

_‘Offspring mate…what will they be?’_

Tony’s anger settled at the question. He’d been far too scared to concern himself with that much, but now, he felt absolute dread at what a Tony Stark and jalopoli combo would look like once it came out of him and hatched. Surely it would look as they did now. Like a jellyfish blob with human limbs coming out of the body. But there was always the off chance they wouldn’t look that way at all. There was a chance they could appear more like a single entity as opposed to two species being crashed together as he and the alien was now. And the sheer idea of it made him shiver.

_‘Mate?’_

Bruce entered the lab, followed by Rhodes.

“Hey Tony,” Bruce greeted in what became his usual sorrowful tone. “I told the team about the pregnancy.”

Tony tensed and wished he could wander away.

“Yes, and don’t worry. It changes nothing,” Rhodes promised as he knelt down to his level.

“The rest of the team are getting in contact with SHIELD.”

At Bruce’s words, he felt intense alarm. He was able to take control, but wobbled on his limbs. 

“I’m sorry Tony, but I need the extra help in getting you back to normal. It’s not a one man job.”

_‘It would at least be a two man job if this damn thing let me work with you!’_

Angrily he snapped his mandibles and searched the area for the notepad.

“Don’t worry,” said Rhodes. “We’re not going to let Fury and his team do anything they shouldn't to you. This is just about helping you.”

Tony looked at his friend as a sharp queasiness hit him. Things were starting to go fuzzy when it came to his vision, and it didn’t help that the room was turning a little.

_‘What’s…happening?’_

The jalopoli however seemed calm.

_‘Mate’_

_‘What the hell’s happening?’_

The jalopoli flashed pink with affection.

“Get the notepad Rhodes, behind you. See if Tony can talk to us.”

Rhodes stood and reached for it and the marker on a table.

“That goddamn alien,” he growled. “If I could I’d strangle it so it would let us have nothing but time with Tony.”

He placed the pad before the alien, and with a shaky hand Tony reached for the marker. As the horrible feeling increased, along with a new hot pain down below, he began writing one phrase after realizing what was happening.

“Tony?” Bruce questioned after noticing the odd shaking in the creature. It had even started to make odd whining noises while flashing pink.

Tony threw the pad forward as he internally wailed. The two men stared down at the pad, mouths dropping and skin paling.

“Oh god!” cried Bruce.

**IT’S TIME!!!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the thing Tony's been dreading; the birth of their offspring.

**Author's Note:**

> So, the beginning was setting up this jellyfish like alien creature the jalopoli (ja-lop-o-lee) and his need for a mate, and it seems to have found one upon seeing Tony.  
> We'll see how this story goes and I'll be sure to add on to it for any intrigued to see more.


End file.
